


Feel You From the Inside

by Vadianna



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alcohol, Bad Dirty Talk, Dirty Talk, Exhibitionism, Jealousy, M/M, Manipulation, casual sex to lovers, discussion of xenophilia, invented aphrodisiac, lots of feelings denial on both sides, perhaps excessive amounts of completely fabricated politics, serious pining from Kylo, the mission not the relationship, they shoot an alien in the head but it isn't graphic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-09
Updated: 2017-12-09
Packaged: 2019-02-11 15:41:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 34,187
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12938430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vadianna/pseuds/Vadianna
Summary: A bet is made:  Kylo Ren believes he can infiltrate the blue-collar population of Makurth and incite them to rebel against the oppressive Orri, who are hoarding a supply of cortosis that is needed to continue construction of Starkiller Base.Hux believes Kylo Ren cannot do this by himself, and that a long, expensive war is the only way to get what they need from the Orri.Whoever wins the bet can ask whatever they want of the other.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The Kylux Reverse Bang, the original idea and art by [@jakkutrashheap](http://jakkutrashheap.tumblr.com)! The original prompt is in chapter five, and art is posted throughout the story.

Kylo slumped against the wall and tapped his heel impatiently as he watched the officers file out of the meeting room. He was in his full regalia, helmet included, and had been slumped against the same wall for hours. He was undecided whether it had been a blessing that his dark expression had been covered from the others, or if his increasing frustration would have helped speed the discussion to its end. The meeting had been one of pointless military strategy, very long, and Hux was clearly also losing patience with his officers. Hux had come to the meeting with ideas for improving a very bad situation, but none of the other strategists had presented any new angles, nor had they helpfully developed the possibilities that Hux was already considering. Hux was a master at controlling his expression, but his tongue had increasingly got the better of him as he mercilessly cut down colonels and majors who contributed nothing to the conversation.

When the last officer had filed out, Kylo watched General Hux sit back down at the head of the table and put his head in his hands.

“What can I do for you, Ren?”

Hux looked up warily, his expression finally something other than his usual mask of indifference, his fingers running through his hair. Kylo smirked behind his own, more literal mask, knowing Hux would never allow any of the other officers to see him like this.

“If you have any suggestions to resolve anything about this mess, let me know, because it looks like it’s going to be a war that we have to throw millions of credits at.” He slammed his palms into the tabletop, looking down at his datapad. “We hadn’t budgeted for the cortosis, it was supposed to be _free_. This much money will put Starkiller almost another year behind schedule, not to mention an incredible waste of Trooper life that might take us years to recover from.”

“You’ll lose time as well as money and lives.” Kylo pushed himself off the wall. “If what you say of the Orri’s battle tactics is true, it sounds like we should be using their pilots and ships for our own fleet.”

Hux tapped at his datapad, frowning, not looking at Kylo. “They’re xenos. We’re waiting until more of the old Imperials die out before we make a shift that drastic, but yes, this planet’s soldiers were high on my list for when we did start recruiting non-humans. I am not looking forward to invading and holding their homeworld.”

“And you had an entire room full of military staff that came up with no solutions aside from a lengthy, expensive war of attrition.”

Hux blanked his screen, scowling. “Idiots.”

“It’s what they’ve been trained to do. Make war.”

Hux finally turned his fury to Kylo, blanking his screen and scowling. “And what do you specialize in, Master of the Knights of Ren, mystical Force warrior? You refused to negotiate with the government when all our aid strategies failed, so I assumed you were only good for cutting down enemies with your sword one by one.”

“The Orri aren’t susceptible to mind tricks. Another reason you should recruit them.”

Hux rolled his eyes and leaned back into his chair. “Yes, for when our army encounters other magic users, because that happens so frequently. Isn’t eliminating them within your purview? I thought you were off slaughtering your fellow innocent witches, and that’s why you refused to even _try_  negotiating here. That’s what you told me when I insisted, explaining that if you succeeded you’d save us _ten million credits, countless lives, and a year’s worth of time_.”

Kylo ignored Hux’s more pointed remarks. “Oh, I’m sure you’ll be able to tally exactly how many Troopers you lose doing this. They won’t be countless.” Kylo perched himself on the edge of the conference table, still amused. “Their refusal to move the cortosis off-planet is based in their religion. The type of deception I perform with the Force, even if I were to get it to work once, on just the right person, is too shallow to change their system of beliefs. They venerate the substance as a blessing to their lives, a protection. Nothing we do will change that. I told you that months ago.”

“You offered no alternative negotiation strategies, no alternate source of cortosis. What are we supposed to do? We need it to fire the weapon. There isn’t anything we can substitute, and this is the only deposit large enough to suit our needs. I told _you_  that months ago.”

Kylo _hmmm_ ed, which came out more sinister through his vocoder.

“Take that ridiculous thing off. I know you have an idea, or you wouldn’t have stayed to talk about this.”

Kylo had an impulse to draw the request out, to make Hux say why he wanted Kylo to take his helmet off. But they both knew why, and Kylo did have an idea he wanted to discuss. He obediently undid the latches and pulled the helmet off, closing his eyes as the dry, recycled air of the ship hit his face. He shook out his hair and smirked as he opened his eyes to see Hux glowering at him. He set the helmet on the table in front of him, then ran his gloved fingers through his hair briefly.

“If they won’t give us the cortosis, and we don’t want to pay for a war against them, why don’t we just have someone else make war for us?”

Hux sat up, his expression sliding into his indifferent mask. “Go on.”

Kylo tapped the console in the center of the table, and brought up the holoprojection of Orri. With another tap, he brought the focus to the next closest planet in the Dartibek system.

“Moltok. The Orri control the inhabitants through a military dictatorship, and closely monitor exports and industry. The population of Moltok is split between the Ho’din, who are the major economic power on the planet, and the Makurth, who are a society of primitive warriors.”

Hux considered the projection. “We were told that the Orri’s relations with Moltok were strained.” His eyes went to Kylo. “But the Moltok lack the resources or will to rebel. Do you want to incite a race of primitives that-” Hux’s attention went back to the projection, and he brought up a brief fact sheet to overlay it, reading the info briefly, “don’t even have the ability to travel into space? How are they supposed to occupy Orri? And will they give us the cortosis if they did?”

Kylo shrugged. “Those two societies don’t hold the same religious beliefs as the Orri. And besides, if they did invade and overthrow the government, whether they succeed or fail, either side would be too weak to defend against us if we decided to push the issue and take the cortosis by force during or after their war.”

Hux nodded, but narrowed his eyes. “Right, but the question still stands - where are they going to get the weapons and tech to invade?”

“From us.” Kylo slid off the table and walked behind Hux, pulling off his gloves and risking his hands on the smooth, cool fabric of the uniform against Hux’s shoulders, his thumbs in the nape of Hux’s neck. “We arm them and give them tech. It doesn’t have to be the same stuff we outfit the troopers with, just enough for them to mount an assault. Some basic shuttles that will get them to the surface of Orri, at the end. Rafts, really. Much cheaper, and you don’t sacrifice your Trooper’s lives doing it. They’ll fight harder with the cheaper tech than our Troopers would, if it’s to improve their own lives. If it’s _their_  war, a cause they believe in.”

Hux frowned, not responding to Kylo’s touch. “They stand even less of a chance of overthrowing the Orri than we would.”

“I think they have more of a chance. The Orri won’t see an attack coming from Moltok. They aren’t viewed as a threat. The planet’s been subjugated for hundreds of years. And the Moltok won’t fight like us. The Orri’s strategies work because we are an army, and they will be able to predict how we move in battle, correct?”

Hux sighed. “True. If it’s a large enough force of armed primitives, they will be dangerous because they’ll be impossible to predict. They won’t always do the most advantageous thing, and they tend to be… creative.”

Kylo dug his thumbs into Hux’s neck, which was tense. Hux didn’t respond to the touch.

“Learned something from Gufull, did you?”

“And Tri-Ona. And Vor. Yes. Primitives are sometimes difficult to fight. But we won, and the Orri will, too.”

“But it will be their war, and we won’t be fighting it unless we have to.”

Hux began to relax somewhat under Kylo’s touch. “So the Moltok will… what? Simply be open to a rebellion? To throwing away their lives because we’ve suddenly given them weapons and suggest it to them? Do you really think the situation is so volatile?”

“Not right now.” Kylo rubbed his thumbs further up into Hux’s hairline. “But we could send an agent to fan the fires of revolution. I think it could be done.”

“ _An_  agent.” Hux huffed, and turned around, Kylo’s hands falling away from his neck as he did. “You think one man and a few transports and guns will do what my army can’t?”

Kylo smirked, and put a hand back to run a thumb up Hux’s neck, his fingers wrapping gently around the front of his throat. “If that one man is me, sure.”

Hux pulled from his grasp completely, sitting back and scowling, “Are you really so arrogant?”

Kylo crossed his arms. “Not arrogance. Confidence. Force suggestions will work well for this - for pushing the Moltok from dissatisfied to angry. I know it will work, but it will take time.”

Hux shook his head, his expression growing darker. “How much?”

Kylo considered. “A year.” He walked around to the side of Hux’s chair, and continued. “Do your fundraising for your ten million credits, and train and plan for your war, but don’t spend your credits until the end of the year. You’re already going to be delayed on the timeline for the weapon, so just count on a year. At the end, you can turn the credits around for transports and weapons, and simply wage war your own way if I fail. If I don’t, you’ll have your credits. If I do fail, your war will be faster if you can prepare for it. You’ll lose less lives. Even your slow-witted staff could develop a strategy, or a new weapon, in that time.”

“The year is the problem. It’s far too long to wait on an invasion.” Hux turned back to the table and switched off the holoprojector.  The loss of light took Kylo's eyes a moment to adjust, and he focused on Hux's neck.

Kylo shook his head. “If you do it now, and everything goes right, you might be able to get that cortosis in three months. But you know it won’t. You know it will take longer, and you’ll lose money, tech, weapons, and Troopers. We can’t get the cortosis without a fight. Plan on that time. We’ll have the money, and we can use it to buy resources that will give us an edge in the fight. It’s possible science and engineering will develop a new strategy for Starkiller, or possibly a weapon to specifically combat the Orri.” Kylo sat on the edge of the table, directly in front of Hux, crossing his arms across his chest. “And if my rebellion on Moltok works, you’ll have more money and resources to spend on the upcoming conflict with the Republic.”

Hux huffed. “Your suggestion is that you can do everything that a fully staffed army can.”

Kylo shrugged. “Yes.”

Hux shook his head. “There’s no way you will succeed. It’s foolish.”

Kylo was annoyed by his obstinance. “I think I will. You can agree that waiting for your invasion is a good strategy, yes?”

Hux frowned, but nodded.

“Then let me try this idea. If it doesn’t work, you’re in a better position to try it your way, and it costs you nothing in the meantime.”

Hux leaned back in his chair again. “It costs you a year’s worth of time. What do you get out of this?”

“I do as I like, General. I think it will be an interesting test of my powers, and a useful strategy for future situations, if it is successful. I think it is a valuable use of my time and yours.”

“And I think it is a waste.”

Kylo stepped forward, his knees pressed next to Hux’s against the chair. He stood over him, using his height to intimidate. “Then make a bet with me.”

Hux, always immune to Kylo’s intimidation, rolled his eyes. “A bet. What is the wager?”

Kylo smirked and leaned forward, his hands on the armrests of the chair. “Why don’t we leave that to the end? The winner can ask what they like of the loser.”

“That’s a great idea. I know you're the kind of person that values good decisions and clean living.”

Kylo leaned further forward, bringing their faces close together. He waited for Hux to stand, to recoil, to push Kylo away. Hux did not. He pushed harder, his gaze boring into Hux’s ice-blue indifferent gaze. “You’re the one that winds up in my bed when you drink, General.”

Hux didn’t retreat from the challenge, but dismissed Kylo’s comment. “An occasional indulgence.” His eyebrows rose. “Is that what you would ask of me? Sex?”

Kylo’s fingers brushed against Hux’s cheek, then his own as he stood back up. “Perhaps, and perhaps not. Do you agree?”

Hux watched him stand, then shifted in his chair, crossing his legs. “It’s foolish.”

Kylo leaned in closer again, bringing his lips to Hux’s ear, exhaling and speaking softly. “I’ll be gone for a year, General. Will you miss the occasional indulgence? Your drinking seems to have… increased lately.”

Hux turned red and pulled away from him, though his expression didn’t change. “I agree to the wager. If only to get rid of you for a year. You're a pest.”

Kylo stood back to his full height. “As are you, General. Your pride prevents you from acknowledging that this is a better plan than your entire staff combined came up with.”

“You are the Co-Commander.”

Kylo thinned his lips, pausing for a moment, then turned and grabbed his helmet from the table. He paused with his back to Hux.

“It’s third cycle. Will you join me for drinks tonight?”

Kylo glanced over his shoulder to see that Hux’s face was still red, and he was studying the ground at Kylo’s feet, though both his tone and expression indicated a cold dismissal. “I’m busy. I have this invasion to plan.”

Kylo smirked. Hux would come to his quarters tonight, as he always did after several drinks at the Officer’s Lounge. He had yet to turn down an invitation from Kylo, and their meetings had become increasingly regular. Kylo perched on the table in front of Hux once again as he pulled his helmet back over his face, obscuring it.

“See you tonight, General.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hux and Kylo use a dialect to have private conversations, and sometimes switch between that and Basic. >Anything in the Outer Rim dialect is between marks like these.<

Kylo watched the door from a dimly-lit corner of the bar. The bar was sparsely attended - there was a table with a pair of Ho’din nearby, and a human at the bar nursing a drink. Kylo gripped his own, feeling the condensation seep through his glove, and the slight _clink_ as the ice melted together and watered down the alcohol in the sweltering heat. It was boiling hot this time of day, and few beings were about. All business in the town tended to stop around now, and Ho’din, Makurth, and humans alike took shelter. Rarely in bars, though. It was still too early in the day for any but the most degenerate to be drinking. Kylo felt the sweat run down his neck, and he twisted the glass, wondering how to entertain himself while waiting.

Bright light washed painfully into the darkness as the door opened with a loud  _creak,_ and he glanced up to see a silhouette appear. Everyone, including the Ho’din bartender, turned to look, then glanced back to their business, uninterested.

Kylo suppressed a laugh once the door closed behind the figure and his eyes adjusted. It was Hux, at exactly the time they agreed upon, and he was wearing casual clothes, also as agreed upon. But it appeared as if Hux’s definition of “casual clothes” and Kylo’s differed drastically. Somewhere, Hux had found a bright yellow one-piece work jumper, soiled appropriately to look battered and worn. In terms of casual clothes, it wasn’t bad - nothing stood out about it inherently, it just was shocking to see on Hux. Yellow was not his color. It was unzipped, and the sleeves were sloppily tied around his waist. He had an old pair of black knee-high officer’s boots pulled over the pants, battered but still polished to an inappropriate shine, and a dark blue tank top that was showing a dark patch in the center of his chest and around his arms where he was beginning to sweat through it. The pale skin of his chest and arms glistened with sweat. His face was flushed red, his expression furious, his hair ungelled and hanging damp across his brow and into his eyes. Kylo had never seen his hair loose, and his gaze lingered. It looked almost blonde without, in the darkness of the bar.

“Is it always so stars-forsaken hot here?” Hux asked irritably, sliding into the seat across from Kylo and pushing his hair out of his face. Kylo’s eyes tracked the movement briefly before taking in more of his flushed expression.

It had been over a month since Kylo had seen him, and he was happy to note that nothing had changed, either about his appearance or his sour attitude. He smirked. “So far, yes, it's always hot. I had forgotten how… delicate you were. Can you complete this mission? Will you be able to exist outside the temperature control of a ship?” Kylo cocked his head. “You know, I just realized I’ve never seen you outside a ship or building for longer than it takes to walk between one and another.”

“’So far, it's always hot,’” Hux mocked in a fair imitation of a Republic accent, obviously ignoring the rest of Kylo’s commentary. “I can see your observations are as valuable as always.”

Kylo shifted, they really shouldn’t be using Basic. He covered his unease by raising a hand and calling out in the Ho’din language to the bartender, and making a series of gestures to indicate two drinks. The Ho’din grumbled, but turned to do it.

>”We really shouldn’t use Basic.”<

>”Yes, because who would ever guess that we spoke it?”<

They had an unusual Outer Rim dialect from the Arkanis system in common. His Uncle Luke had grown up speaking it on Tatooine. Luke had taught Kylo so they could have private conversations in public. Kylo frowned at the memory, and the necessity of using it here. He was surprised when he’d heard Hux using it under his breath, and Hux had been equally annoyed that Kylo had understood it. They had decided in advance to use it on Moltok for these public meetings. They were days of lightspeed travel away from the Arkanis system, and non-natives were extremely unlikely to know the dialect.

>”Nobody here uses Basic. Most use Moltaan and Orrish, or Bocce if they're off-worlders.”<

>”We’re obviously from off-world. It’s fine. Your accent is atrocious, by the way.”<

Kylo rolled his eyes and raked his hand through his loose hair, his gaze following the bartender to the table and waiting for him to sulkily deposit their drinks before continuing their conversation. The Ho’din bartender eyed Kylo’s unfinished drink and gave him a sour look before shuffling slowly back to the bar.

Hux picked his up and held it to his forehead, a look of relief settling across his features before he sipped the drink and winced. >”This tastes like garbage. Why is that bartender so upset?”< He jerked a thumb over his shoulder, indicating the Ho’din.

Kylo held his own glass to his lips, but didn’t drink. >”The Ho’din make strong liquor. Why do you think the bartender’s upset? They don’t want to do work when it’s this hot.”<

>”Kind of you to arrange this meeting during the heat of the day, by the way.”<

>”You two have a lot in common.”<

>”Fuck you. Tell me what you learned.”<

Kylo fiddled with one of his gloves. >”The mission’s doable. Every Makurth I’ve spoken to hates the Orri, enough so that they aren’t shy about telling an unknown off-worlder all about it. It won’t take much to start a rebellion. The Ho’din and Makurth have good relations, at least around here. I don’t know about the Ho’din, though. They don’t like off-worlders. I know the Orri tax the Ho’din heavily, but I can’t get a read on them.”<

Hux continued to sip his drink. >”I’m somewhat surprised to hear that unrest is that wide-spread. The Orri have held the system long enough that they should be aware of how to neutralize such things.”< Hux paused, considering the information, before asking more questions. >”From the reading I’ve done, it sounds like the Ho’din are the ruling class.”<

Kylo put the drink to his lips again, but didn’t sip, murmuring against the rim. >”Yes, mostly. The Ho’din control the credits here - it’s primarily an agricultural and food-based society. The Orri take business and sales taxes from the Ho’din, and income taxes from the Makurth. The Ho’din don’t believe in individually held wealth, so they wind up giving most of their money to the Makurth. The income tax from the Makurth is… significant.”<

Hux glanced around, then made a show of slouching back in his seat. Kylo hid his smile, knowing that Hux was trying to look lazy and blend in.

>”This is more information than we had in the cultural dossiers. Is it just a money thing, though? We might be able to exploit that without an actual rebellion, if so.”<

Kylo shook his head. >”No, it’s not just that.”< He raised his glass in illustration. >”The Ho’din are famous for brewing in particular, especially on Orri. The Orri export Ho’din masters and basic Makurth labor, both are kept basically as slaves. I’m told they aren’t allowed to communicate back with anyone on Moltok once they’ve been taken.”<

Hux’s eyebrows went up. >”Slavers too, then. We didn’t know that. That does make your plan easier to complete.”< He took another sip of his drink. >”It might be harder if the Ho’din hold the wealth and aren’t as openly rebellious as the Makurth, though. You’ll have to get them to talk more.”<

>”Not… necessarily. The two species are..."< Kylo frowned, unable to come up with the word in the dialect. He said it in Basic, not wanting to dance around it.  "Symbiotic."  He switched back to the dialect. >"The Ho’din species is long-lived and famously infertile, so there are few Ho'din and a lot of Makurth. The Makurth do most of the menial labor in all the regions of Moltok, but they have a great deal of respect for the Ho’din, and Makurth will usually work for the same Ho’din for their whole life. In return, one Ho'din Master will take care of several generations of Makurth families, and they usually care for them like their own.”<

Hux blinked. >”An interesting dynamic.”<

Kylo nodded. >”The Ho’din don’t speak ill of the Orri, but I think there’s some tension there. If their businesses are taxed too heavily, the Ho’din can’t take care of their Makurth families. And the Makurth will defend the Ho’din elders, who have a way with the plants and food that their species doesn’t possess.”<

Hux glanced over his shoulder at the bar, then turned back. >”Are these Ho’din or Makurth?”<

“Ho’din,” Kylo confirmed, his eyes going to the bartender, who didn’t look up. Both the Makurth and Ho’din refused to have their likeness taken, holo, image, physical drawing, or otherwise. It was tied into their belief system as something to do with the uniqueness of the individual, but it was an easy enough rule to respect. So the First Order lacked holos or images of the species, though did have writings and recordings of language. Both Hux and Kylo had studied all the available material before this mission began.

To the human eye, the Ho’din were an ostentatious-looking humanoid race. Kylo had never seen one before going planetside - they were not a race of space travelers. They were over 3 meters tall, slender and delicate-looking, with long fingers that ended in suction cups, the same that covered the pads and palms of their hands. Their most distinguishing feature was their “hair,” which was writhing snake-like protrusions that ended in small sucking mouths with tongues and beady eyes. The snakes ranged from finger-width to wrist-width, and Kylo was unclear as to whether the Ho’din controlled the head-snakes, or they were somehow autonomous. The length of the snakes varied, along with the color of their skin - the green Ho’din tended to have the shortest head-snakes, usually less than shoulder-length. Blue snakes seemed to go about halfway down their back, and red-skinned snakes were waist-length or longer.

It was an odd question, since Kylo assumed that Hux had read a description in the dossier. But maybe he just wanted to confirm that this wasn’t an outsider, or was waiting to see what Kylo would come up with on his own. Kylo looked back to Hux, who had finished his drink and was noisily chewing the ice cubes from it. This behavior was affected as well, and something Hux would never do in the Officer’s Lounge when they drank together. In fact, if Kylo had thought of it himself, it was obnoxious enough that he would have done it to annoy Hux.

Kylo wondered now if Hux was doing it to be annoying, or because it was what he thought people did in public.

Kylo’s gaze flicked back to the Ho’din bartender, and he slid his own glass across the table. Hux took it without comment.

>”When the Orri take the Makurth as forced labor, they do it with a draft system. But they couldn't enforce the draft system on the Ho'din, since there’s so few of them. Both cultures would have immediately revolted. So the Orri kidnap the Ho’din they take. It can’t be proven, of course, but it’s an open secret. It’s another point against the Orri in the eyes of the Makurth. The Ho’din masters cook and brew, but they also practice healing. I'm told that their culture's power over plants allows them to cure anything. Allegedly, the Ho’din have wiped out most disease in this system.”<

Kylo looked out onto the street, squinting against the light as Hux digested the information. When Hux was silent, Kylo continued. >”The healers keep disappearing, so the Orri are probably selling them, too. Apparently they’ve taken enough now that the Master healers are on the verge of becoming extinct, unable to pass their trade secrets on to the next generation. That's a major tragedy for both races, but again, I can’t get the Ho’din to talk to me yet. Apparently both species are becoming increasingly alarmed by the lack of communication from those that have been drafted. Or ‘kidnapped.’”<

Hux looked at him over the rim of the glass. >”Because comm tech is so prevalent here, I assume? It’s shocking they wouldn’t hear from anyone that left the planet.”<

Kylo smirked. It was true that there wasn’t much tech on this planet. They’d needed to work out a special kind of comm array to keep him in contact with the First Order and not be easily intercepted.

>”And you were just… told all this?”< Hux asked. >”You just walked into this bar, sat down, and asked to know everything about the Ho’din and Makurth?”<

>”Hmm.”< Kylo’s eyes drifted to the bar, and back. Hux was eyeing his chest, which was visible through the damp, gray mesh shirt that Kylo was wearing. Kylo scratched one of his nipples, and Hux’s eyes darted up, annoyed.

>”I said I was a trader who was getting a bad deal from the Orri. I went to a Makurth bar to complain, since they’re the ones with the warlike culture. They constantly fight each other, by the way. Apparently as a kind of hobby. Competition between the Makurth families under the different Ho’din masters is this planet’s version of sport.”< He noticed Hux’s gaze wander down again, and Kylo smirked and let him. >”I said I wanted to trade on Moltok instead of Orri, but they don’t do that here.  The Orri heavily monitor shipments and credit transfers. There's no black market.”<

Hux continued to nurse his drink, still not looking at Kylo’s face. >”And the Orri allowed you to go into the bar and shit-talk them.”<

>”Oh, you can tell when the Orri aren’t there. The Makurth will do that whenever they aren’t.”<

>”And why are you still in this city?”<

>”I said I wanted to start a black market. The Makurth liked the idea, but apparently the Ho'din don’t want to go against the Orri. It’s too dangerous for them.”<

When Hux didn’t respond, Kylo leaned forward and braced his elbows and forearms on the tabletop, his hands around his first drink, which was now warm. He flexed his biceps, pressing his pecs together. Hux looked irked again, his gaze going back to Kylo’s face.

>”You look ridiculous, you know that?”<

Kylo grinned again, running his hand over his hair. >”What don't you like?”<

>”The fingerless gloves? This clear shirt? Your _hair_?” He seemed particularly annoyed at that, and took the warm drink out of Kylo’s hands, draining it in one attempt to hide his blush.

Kylo had braided the sides of his hair, leaving the top standing up free. >”I thought it was a good look. Nobody would recognize me.”<

>”Are you joking?”< Hux’s eyes ran down his chest and arms again. He looked back into his eyes. >”No one would forget seeing you.”<

Kylo raised his hand and indicated one drink to the Ho’din bartender, who still looked annoyed and muttered a protest loudly enough for Kylo to hear. Kylo’s eyes went to the human at the bar again, and he decided not to let Hux know that he was almost certainly an agent who was meant to report on Kylo. Kylo wasn’t sure where that was coming from yet, and he wanted to be positive before he told Hux.

They sat quietly until the Ho’din brought the drink, and Hux downed it greedily, barely managing not to consume it in one swallow as he chewed on the ice again. Kylo noticed he had stopped complaining about the taste.

Watching Hux’s teeth, he leaned across the tiny table and kissed him, clenching his hand in the front of Hux’s thin shirt. His tongue was cold and eager, and Hux made a noise as he did it. When they broke the kiss, Kylo’s hand stayed wrapped in Hux’s shirt.

>”Have you ever tried to dress casually in your life? Your clothes are terrible, too.”<

They weren’t, not really, but he knew Hux would be sensitive about it. Hux pushed him away, looking bright red, avoiding Kylo’s eyes. >”If you’re trying so hard not to stand out, I’m sure this is an excellent way to avoid making a public spectacle of yourself.”<

Kylo hooked his foot under the bar of Hux’s high chair and brought him closer around the table. Hux gave him a mild look and finished the dregs of his drink, crunching the ice. >”There are few humans in this city. The Ho’din probably won’t remember, and don’t care.”< He pulled Hux into his lap to face him, the latter not resisting. He felt the hot press of Hux’s thighs against his own.

Hux pulled at Kylo’s shirt. >”Take this stupid thing off. There’s a human right over there, I saw them.”<

Kylo complied, and Hux immediately clamped his lips, cold and eager, around one of Kylo’s nipples. Kylo arched his chest into the touch, and Hux brought his cold, condensation-slicked hands up to Kylo’s biceps, squeezing. Kylo looked at the human across the top of Hux’s head. >”Don't worry about it. They can watch if they want.”<

He reached around and squeezed Hux’s ass, grunting with annoyance when he realized how heavy the fabric of the thick work jumper was. He snaked his hand down the loose waistband instead. He leaned into Hux’s neck and muffled a snort of laughter when he found that Hux wasn’t wearing underwear. He turned his lips to Hux’s ear, sliding easily against his perspiration-slick skin. >”We can stop if you want.”<

Hux reached between them and gripped Kylo’s erection through his pants. Kylo was wearing a small pair of black briefs, but only because his pants were hanging in baggy tatters, most of his legs visible through the copious rips. >”Don’t you dare. These pants won’t make it all the way back to whatever hovel you’re staying at, anyway. Honestly, why bother?”<

Kylo reached into the pocket, which was intact, to withdraw a bottle of lubricant. >”It's expected, isn't it?”< He used one hand to unscrew the top and squeeze some into his palm, setting the bottle on the table. He glanced around the room, smirking as he noticed that none of the other silent patrons were paying the slightest attention to them. Amazing.

>”Don’t think I didn’t notice that those Ho’din don’t wear pants.”<

Kylo shrugged. >”Of course _you_ noticed that. They don’t. Maybe you’re right, I should try it.” <

He used his other hand to guide the loose work uniform down over Hux’s hips, who shimmied out of them down to his thighs, then grunted in annoyance as he stood to pull them off along with his boots, climbing back into Kylo’s lap, his hand finding its way into one of the tears of his pants and into the side of his briefs, squeezing the head of his dick.

Kylo was shocked by Hux’s eagerness. Their trysts together had become increasingly frequent, not to mention that they saw each other for hours every day even when they didn’t convene in the evenings. Even when Kylo was on missions, they still tended to exchange messages, both relevant and antagonistic. The undercover nature of this mission necessitated encrypted messages that were both short and infrequent, and Kylo found himself missing Hux’s company immensely, more than he wanted to admit after only a week.

They had planned on occasional meetings ahead of time, but hadn’t scheduled any in advance. Kylo had been pleased when he’d received the brief to name a time and place, and wondered why Hux was interested in progress so soon.

Now, he wondered if progress had been secondary, though Hux had seemed pleased enough with it, even if he hadn’t said so aloud.

He sucked a mark into Kylo’s collarbone, biting sharply, and Kylo moaned, using his knees to spread Hux apart and finding his way to his hole with his finger.

Hux only inhaled sharply as Kylo slid one finger in, beginning to work him open. He grinned into the sweaty mess of Hux’s hair when it became obvious that it hadn’t been long since the General had pleasured himself. >”I see that this hole hasn’t been lonely since I left the ship.”<

He frowned briefly, wondering idly if the word “hole” worked the same in the dialect as it did in Basic. His uncle hadn’t exactly taught him dirty talk. He was rewarded with another bite, this one below his collarbone, so he decided he was close enough. He could feel Hux’s tongue lapping at it, and he wondered if Hux had broken the skin. When Hux didn’t respond, Kylo continued, circling Hux’s hole with a second finger, murmuring low, so only Hux could hear.

>”Did you think I wouldn’t notice how ready you were for me? Did you do this before you came to see me? Or have you-”< he paused, frustrated, not knowing the word. >“-not done anything the whole time, and you wanted to be filled up right away?”<

He pushed his second finger in, grinning again into Hux’s hair when it slid in fairly easily, though a little tighter this time. Hux grunted, and Kylo inhaled, lowering his face and letting his lips drag across Hux’s neck, licking at the salt of his sweat and taking in the scent of him. Hux’s thumbs played with the nipple on the left side of Kylo’s chest, pinching it as he lowered his mouth to Kylo’s right nipple. They were both sweating profusely, and he could feel the hot, slick slide of Hux’s skin against his chest. His other hand went up under Hux’s damp shirt, now soaked with sweat, and he slid his palm up and down the knobby protrusions of Hux’s spine.

 _I missed this_ , he thought. _I missed it too much. I missed you_.

>”Did you lie in bed and use your fingers? Did you do it right before you left for this meeting?”< he said instead, scissoring his fingers. Hux shuddered. Kylo wanted to say something about his fingers, their size, his rough skin, but he suddenly couldn’t remember how, and was becoming overwhelmed. Instead, he scissored them again. >”Is this what you did?”<

He didn’t have to ask. He knew. He could feel Hux fairly shaking, though he remained silent through all of Kylo’s ministrations. He kept up with the dirty talk in the Outer Rim dialect, though he was pausing between statements, finding it harder and harder to use the nice words his uncle had taught him and framing it into what he wanted to say to Hux.

>”Or did you use…”< He paused again, wondering if he would have to stop talking. >”-a little toy? Did you get something nice and big to keep you… full while I’m gone? Does-”< he growled, still not coming up with a word for ‘abstinence.’ >”-not doing it make it better for you?”< He pulled his fingers back, and Hux all but chased them, thrusting backwards while clamping down on Kylo’s nipple with his teeth in displeasure. Kylo slid them back in. >”Being away does make it better, I can tell.”<

 _Me too_ , he thought.

He took even longer to frame what he wanted to say next. >”Or maybe you got yourself a… plug.”< He’d tried a word that might also mean ‘drain,’ and wasn’t sure about that. >”Maybe you’re so… desperate that you need something keeping you full all day.”< He circled Hux with his third finger, and Hux batted the hand away impatiently, pulling back from Kylo’s chest and pulling his dick out of his briefs.

>”Stop ———————.”< He looked angry, and Kylo cocked his head, trying to parse what Hux had said. He was drunk and excited enough that his accent made it almost impossible to understand the dialect, which Kylo did not speak natively as Hux did.

>”You ————— enough ————— to me!”< Hux tried again, and when Kylo knew he had a hopeless look on his face, Hux shook his head.

“Basic! Speak Basic! Your-” Hux gestured between them, frustrated. “Whatever you’re doing is incoherent!” he tried, likely louder than he meant, the shout ringing through the bar.

“Of course.” Kylo grinned. It wasn’t as if it wouldn’t be obvious what they were saying to each other anyway. “I can do that.”

>”Enough ———- now.”< He demanded. Kylo was amused that Hux was not making the transition himself. But this time, the implications were clear enough. Hux almost shredded Kylo’s pants beyond repair as he yanked the waistband and the briefs far enough down to free Kylo’s cock. Kylo kept his slick hand around Hux’s ass, teasing his hole with one of his fingertips, as Hux slicked him and lowered himself slowly down on Kylo’s dick.

Neither said anything. Kylo kept his gaze locked on Hux’s face, who always had his eyes shut, his face screwed into a look of intense concentration when he did this. Which was for the best, because Kylo would have hated for Hux to see what was probably a look of stupid worship on his face. Kylo loved it when Hux sat in his lap like this. He was so close. They did it so rarely.

 _I missed this_ , he thought. It was the worst part of the mission. He was lonely. He hadn’t anticipated that. He thought he would be fine. He so rarely spoke to anyone anyway, and he saw this as a challenge. And he knew this mission would involve more socializing than he was used to. He’d spent most of his afternoons and evenings in bars, talking to strangers. But none of them knew him like this, and he hated that he had thought about it as much as he had, had missed it so much. He’d been restless all of yesterday and this morning, and he’d been hard in his pants almost as soon as Hux walked through the door.

_I missed you. Did you miss me?_

Kylo’s hands were around his waist, Hux’s were on his shoulders, and they were both sweating copiously and panting as Hux sat in his lap, adjusting to Kylo’s cock.

Hux put his forehead against Kylo’s shoulder, Kylo knew it was so he couldn’t see his face. Just as well. They both took a moment, then Hux lifted his head, frowning, looking directly into Kylo’s eyes, as he rose and fell on Kylo’s dick. Kylo was somewhat stunned, and he had a moment where he knew his expression was horribly open before he lapsed into his usual dirty talk. It was harder with Hux looking at him.

”Get your fill. Ruin yourself. Make it so your fingers and your little toys won’t be a substitute for me while I’m gone. I want you to come back for this. I want you to leave knowing that there's nothing better.”

The last had probably been too sentimental, but Hux was drunk enough that it likely didn’t matter. Hux never particularly responded either way to Kylo’s dirty talk, but Kylo took advantage of his lack of negation to say all sorts of ridiculous things. He covered his sentimentality with worse dirty talk.

”You’re such a little slut,” he offered, when Hux began to go faster. His slick hand left Hux’s waist and came around his red, leaking dick, and Kylo began thumbing and teasing the head. Hux’s hips stuttered as he thrust into it, and he managed to look more angry. Their eyes never left each other. ”Such a whore for this. Did you imagine this meeting? Is this what you thought would happen? That you’d be desperate enough to ride my dick in the middle of dark bar in front of a bunch of aliens?”

At this Hux finally made a sound, moaning and and closing his eyes, and his dick jumped in Kylo’s hands. Kylo had wondered about that - this was so completely unlike Hux. He had known Hux wanted it, had pictured Hux on his dick, himself. But they had made it back to his cheap apartment first in his own fantasies. His imaginings hadn’t included the yellow jumper, and as hideous as that was, as soon as Hux had walked through the door, Kylo had known he couldn’t wait that long, even stone-cold sober. He had hoped Hux would drink fast. The liquor was strong, and if he did, it would mean he wanted it too, and something like this could happen.

Kylo pumped Hux’s dick faster, and held Hux’s hips in place as he began to thrust up into Hux. ”Everyone sees what a good little slut you are, crawling into my lap and riding my dick. They see how lonely and desperate you are. A few drinks and you’re all over me.”

At this, Hux let out a noise that was closer to a sob, and Kylo was alarmed. Maybe he had missed Kylo more than Kylo thought. Kylo moved his lips to his neck, not quite a kiss, then began murmuring in his ear.

“Shh. It’s alright. I know what you need. You’re here now. We’ll go back to my place. I’ll carry you, because you’re not going to be able to walk once I’m done with you.” He thrust sharply up into Hux, and Hux cried out, half-sobbing again, his face hidden. He had been murmuring, but he dropped his voice to a whisper for the next part, edging toward an orgasm and letting his desperation get the better of him. ”I’ll carry you, and we’ll sleep for the afternoon. And we’ll wake up, and you’ll still be drunk, and we’ll be gentle this time, so gentle.”

He bit into Hux’s ear, and he knew he was close. So close.

”And you can clean up and leave and pretend you won’t do this again the next time you see me.”

He pumped hard, running a thumb over Hux’s dick, and Hux came, breathing hard into the join of Kylo’s neck and shoulder, biting down to stifle a loud cry. Hux was loud when he was drunk enough, and Kylo knew he would still be just ashamed enough of doing this in public to be as quiet as possible. Kylo wondered if they could make up for it later.

With Hux clenched hard around his dick, his hand went back to Hux’s hips and he finished himself off with a few more thrusts, curling his forehead into Hux’s chest and pumping desperately until he released. He clenched his eyes shut and grit his teeth, letting his dick pulse inside Hux. When he was finished, he opened his eyes. Hux had his hands on Kylo’s back, and Kylo could feel him breathing hard into the back of his neck.

After a few moments, he straightened, and Hux’s hands slid off his back. Hux had a blank expression on his face, which Kylo recognized as a way to hide whatever he was thinking. He used this expression, rather than his usual careful indifference, when absolutely overwhelmed, and Kylo stifled his own smile, opting for an innocent look as he trailed a finger through the come he had all over his chest, sticking it into his mouth.

He thought about making a comment about it tasting like public humiliation, but there was a chance that Hux would just leave. So instead, he let Hux slide out of his lap and onto the chair, and Kylo gestured for another drink and imagined what Hux’s butt looked like from the back, peeking out just underneath the damp shirt.

He tucked himself back in and smirked, knowing what he looked like barechested and covered in come and sweat. Hux scowled back at him, and Kylo knew he wouldn’t leave.


	3. Chapter 3

Kylo had the drinks ready as Hux slid into the tall chair across the small table. They’d locked eyes as soon as Hux had stepped through the doors, and neither had dropped the other’s gaze. They continued to stare at each other now, neither willing to interrupt the stillness. Hux broke first when he scowled, looked down, and downed the drink on his side of the table in three swallows. Kylo watched his long, pale throat bob, a drop of sweat running down the side of his neck. It was obscene. Kylo wanted to lick it off, and shifted in his seat.

Kylo had considered leaving both drinks on Hux’s side, but he didn’t want to push Hux too quickly. Hux was too good at spotting his seduction. If he was in the wrong mood, he would walk away if he was teased or tested before he was properly drunk. And as loathe as Kylo was to admit it to himself, he didn’t want Hux to leave. He was sure Hux needed these meetings as much as he did, but increasingly, Kylo was desperate for them. He couldn’t be certain what Hux was telling himself when he wasn’t drunk and lying in Kylo’s arms. Hux was better than Kylo at denying himself, and flawless at pretending that none of this affected him.

Kylo pretended the same as he casually gestured to the surly Ho’din bartender for another round.

>”Must we always meet during the heat of the day in this disgusting hole?”<

Kylo shrugged, picking at the varnished wood grain of the table with his dirty nails. >”You’re the one that keeps sending the meeting confirmations. Is there another place you want to see in this city? Or anywhere else on Moltok?”<

Hux rolled his eyes. >”I’m not coming here on a holiday, I’m coming here to receive an update on your mission. But anywhere even remotely cooler than this would be fine. Do they have air conditioning at all in this city?”<

Kylo raised his own glass to his lips to give Hux a long look across the rim. There was not pushing Hux, and there was letting him lie to himself, which Kylo wasn’t prepared to do. >”Not here on holiday? Could have fooled me. Do you really need to come down every two weeks to get updated? In person? We have that complicated comm array so that you don’t have to do that.”<

Hux turned red at the mention of transmitted reports, and the Ho’din approached with their two additional drinks. Hux took his, but didn’t immediately sip from it. He looked at the table, an expression of confusion clouding his features. But he quickly schooled his features back into his expressionless mask, looking back up at Kylo.

>”Don’t think you’re so good at this that you don’t require check-ins.”<

>”And what have you taken back to the ship, these last several check-ins?”<

>”That you are moving too slow.”< Hux looked away again, at the dim plaster wall behind Kylo, and Kylo knew better than to push him. >”I’m trying to develop a strategy. We are gathering funds for the First Order assault on Orri, still scheduled for ten standard months from now. We are beginning weapons and small craft manufacturing, the low end first, as a concession to your plan.”<

>”Good. My plan will work. When do you foresee the completion of the manufacturing for my part of it?”<

>”That would depend on the size of your force, wouldn’t it?”< Hux looked back with a dry expression. >”You tell me how many you’ll need.”<

Kylo shook his head, feeling his hair brush at his bare shoulders. It was too long now, and he normally braided it back, but he enjoyed having Hux pull it, and suffered having it sit on his neck when Hux visited. >”You're the one that does logistics. I'm playing the mind games this time.”<

Hux rolled his eyes, still not drinking. Kylo’s gaze moved between the glass and Hux’s lips, hoping to give a subtle cue. >”I can manage supplies for an army, but only if I know how large the army is, and where it will be. You have to give me the number of minds.”<

Kylo considered. >”I can do that. They’re having me travel more. I can start looking at the numbers more.”<

Hux nodded. >”If they’re warriors, they’ll know how many bodies they have on their side. Just ask them.”< He brought the glass to his lips, then set it down again. Kylo shifted in his seat, agitated. >”Are you still having issues with the different factions and groups within the Makurth themselves?”<

>”No. That has gone away since they've begun to rebel more seriously. They no longer fight among themselves. That was easy.”< He waved his hand in the air, happy to talk about this. Hux was always impressed by his skills in the fields, and there had always been something in Kylo that liked to brag. >”Their small acts of rebellion and aggression are causing the Orri to come down on them harder than ever, and as a result, it makes the Makurth more susceptible to the idea that it’s possible to overthrow them for good.”< He leaned forward, fingers in his hair, resting his chin on his hand. He looked at Hux’s glass longer this time, then back to his face. >”The issues I was having with certain groups not talking to me because I associate with other groups is gone. They all hate the Orri, and they love hearing me talk about eliminating them.”<

Hux raised his eyebrows, and leaned forward, his hands on his knees. >”And how much of that is their own free will?”<

Kylo leaned further across the table, only a few dozen centimeters separating them. >”Most of it. But the acts of aggression against the Orri tend to be… my own influence. For whatever reason, though they want to do it, they won’t go against authority unless I-”< He waved his free hand through the air again. >”Make them.”<

He smiled, and it was more a bearing of teeth. Hux’s eyes glittered fiercely in the low light, and he knew that Hux appreciated his more particular talents immensely, even if he would never say so.

>”Interesting. And they’re having you travel more now?”<

>”To talk to more of them, yes. The new groups always seemed to be fascinated by the new… camaraderie, and by the intensity of the hatred toward the Orri. But I usually stick around for a couple days, and wouldn’t you know it, there always seems to be an anti-Makurth act from the Orri. Or, even better, abuse of a Ho’din.”<

Hux leaned his arms against the table, closing the distance between them. A dozen centimeters apart now, their faces were very close together. >”And you are _such_  a persuasive speaker.”<

Kylo chuckled, genuinely amused by the barb. >”No. You know I’m not. But that’s another point in my favor. As long as I’m saying something similar, it’s always what they want to hear. And the Makurth are starting to do the rallying for me, so I only have to be there to-”< he waved his free hand again, this time resting it on the table next to one of Hux’s. He could feel the clammy press of skin between their fingers. >”incite them.”<

>”Amazing,”< Hux breathed, and Kylo closed his eyes, the rare praise falling from Hux’s lips feeling like the sweetest endearment. With his eyes closed, he felt Hux’s hand close over his own. His other hand found its way into Kylo’s hair, his fingers wrapping themselves into the sweaty mess at the back of Kylo’s neck. He pulled Kylo forward into a kiss, hot and wet and eager. It wasn’t as aggressive as it had been in the past - their kisses had mellowed since they’d begun to convene on this planet. The violence had gone, and in its place Kylo felt a fierce kind of ardor he dare not dwell on. Eagerness, passion. Kylo opened his mouth, and Hux took it eagerly with his own, but there was no teeth, no pulling of Kylo’s hair. Just a firm grip and a wet mouth. Kylo turned his palm up to intertwine the fingers of their hands.

After their first meeting planetside, Hux had stayed the night. This had been a surprise to both of them. Kylo knew just as well as Hux that the General couldn’t be away from the _Finalizer_  for that long, and they had also never spent the night in each other’s bed before, one or the other always leaving after their aggressive couplings. Kylo’s small quarters in Cy-Bol were hot, and they hadn’t embraced, but it was still more intimate than Kylo had been used to. But the sex had been… exceptional, and tiring, and Hux had been as exhausted as he was. Kylo had been too tired to comment or kick him out. They’d said nothing about it, and Hux had gotten dressed and left in silence the next morning.

Kylo thoughts had lingered excessively on a repeat performance the entirety of the following week. Hux, exquisite, Kylo’s legs over his shoulders, the two of them panting and red and sweating, showering together and repeating the performance all over again. They had both been insatiable, and neither had been the one to stop until they’d both literally collapsed with exhaustion.

Therefore, Kylo had not taken it well when, instead of a transmission confirming another meeting, he’d received a note to keep his schedule clear for a two-hour window another week out. He had been furious, bitter, and had needed to stay in for a day to center himself before sending a simple confirmation. He used his free day to focus his thoughts, sitting in the heat of his plain, empty room and shedding his expectations of Hux, his unnecessary sexual frustration. There was his mission, the minds he was touching. His skills were getting better, the manipulations were coming easier. This was working, and it was working because Kylo was exceptional.

His exceptional focus lasted for five days, until he was once again blue-balling in anticipation of seeing Hux.

Their second meeting had been briefer than the first, since Kylo had still been laying the groundwork and making himself known among the different Makurth factions. Hux had gone on unnecessarily about day-to-day operations on the _Finalizer_  until he was drunk enough to follow Kylo back to his rooms. Kylo had also been drunk, and the night was a blur. Hux had left the next morning without a word, but had sent the schedule for another meeting two weeks later almost as soon as he’d returned to the ship. They’d repeated this pattern several times. Kylo wondered if he did that to prove that he could go that long without sex, or if it was a scheduling issue. Hux wasn’t often away from the _Finalizer_  at all, let alone overnight.

>”You’re amazing,”< he said again, breathing against Kylo’s lips and pulling back slightly, and Kylo shuddered.

He opened his eyes, still very careful. He looked at Hux’s drink again, then back at Hux. He wasn’t nearly drunk enough for this kind of intimacy. As Kylo searched his face, something that had been bothering him tumbled out. It was graceless and transparent, but it was a weight that had been growing heavier with time.

>”I’ll have to travel more. Go around the continents. Get more of them riled up.”<

>”Fine. It’s progressing well. Do it.”<

>”No, you don’t understand.”< He closed his eyes and ducked his head slightly, and Hux tipped his face into the crown of Kylo’s head. Kylo’s breath hitched, but he continued. >”Transportation is slow here. It takes time to travel. It’s a big planet, a lot of Ho’din settlements.”<

>”So? Are you so spoiled that traveling around a planet bothers you?”<

>”No,”< he said, annoyed, more forcefully, and he opened his eyes, tipping his head back up. He wanted to touch Hux’s face, and the hand still propped under his chin twitched in Hux’s direction. But it might be too much. Hux needed to set the tone, lest Kylo be blamed for their intimacy later. He contented himself with squeezing the hand he held, their grip growing hot and sweaty. >”You don’t understand. I can’t come back here if they’re having me do that.”<

Hux scowled and pulled back, leaning back into his seat and crossing his arms. Kylo did too, reluctantly. Hux picked up his drink and sipped thoughtfully, still not draining it with his usual determination. A slant of sunlight came through the window and across Hux’s face, illuminating his hair and making his eyes look nearly green as his pupils shrank to points. Hux’s eyes narrowed, and he sat his glass back down on the table with a solid thud, which was followed by the tinkling of the ice settling.

The sound echoed in the dark, nearly empty bar. Today, there was only the Ho’din bartender and a single human at the bar. Kylo’s eyes landed on the human briefly, then he looked away. Humans were rare enough to stand out, and this human was conspicuous by his constant presence, both here and at the meetings that Kylo attended alone. He wondered if Hux had noticed him, or was working to identify any sort of human spy network planetside that might be working for the Orri. Kylo was still confident that the Outer Rim dialect kept their conversations relatively private, though he dared not press in on the mind of the human to make sure. It would be too noticeable, and if the human had been sent to spy, surely whoever he was working for had a variety of suspicions about who Kylo actually was. No smuggler hung around this long to incite a rebellion. He smirked as he eyed the human, imagining the furious speculation that went along with his identity.

>”Fine,”< Hux finally said, and Kylo’s attention went back to him. >”We can have these meetings anywhere. At least I can stay on board my shuttle this way, instead of that dirty hole you call an apartment.”<

Kylo smiled slow and lazy, and leaned forward on his arms again. Hux let a brief look of annoyance cross his features, and Kylo considered it a victory. >”My rooms aren’t air conditioned, but you never seem to complain there. And I’m sure it won’t look suspicious at all if I’m meeting a nice shuttle every two weeks, like clockwork, no matter where I’m at on the planet.”<

Hux looked even more annoyed. >”It’s not a nice shuttle. It blends in.”<

Kylo sat back again, grinning, making an obvious show of taking in Hux’s appearance head to foot. >”You’re the expert on blending in, aren’t you?”<

He was wearing a sleeveless shimmering gold tunic, open at the front, belted and flowing down to the tops of his low white leather loafers. He was wearing a tiny pair of white shorts that barely concealed anything, and a matching see-through sleeveless top that barely covered his chest and left his midriff bare. He still wore his hair down and ungelled, and it still looked more blond in the low light of the bar. Again, it wasn’t actually a bad disguise - off-world traders tended to dress ostentatiously, to draw attention to themselves and whatever it was they were trying to sell. But it was still shocking to see Hux in anything but a uniform, and Kylo knew he was self-conscious. He thought about asking Hux what holonet site he chose and ordered his civilian clothes from, but Hux might just leave, and Kylo didn’t want to beg for his company.

As it was, Hux looked angry enough even after a mild comment, and pushed a hand through the sweaty mess of his hair in frustration. He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. >”I blend in well enough.”<

At that, Kylo laughed, trying to conceal it, knowing it was likely to drive Hux away, but not able to help himself. >”If you like it, I like it.”< He struggled to control himself, managing it when he saw a brief flicker of surprise on Hux’s face. Surprise, and not anger.

Kylo shook his head slightly, still smirking, leaned forward across the small table once again, bracing his hands against the edge. >”But seriously. Why don’t you stick around for a couple days this time? Come to a meeting yourself. Then at least they’ll recognize you, and assume you’re associating with me. It might make these meetings look more social and less suspicious.”<

Kylo knew he was pushing it. Regardless of how Hux felt about Kylo, he was never away from the _Finalizer_ , especially with so much going on. Their nights together were already too much. But it was also not enough, not nearly enough, and Kylo ached once again at the memory of seeing and speaking to Hux every day. He had taken it for granted, and found himself lonely and obsessed, neither of which were emotions he should have allowed himself.

He wondered if Hux missed him. Did he miss their drinks? Their conversations? Kylo was out almost every night in bars, clubs, and meeting halls, surrounded by groups of people he had to attempt friendship with, or at least give the impression of friendship. But he’d never been good at socializing that way, and he often found himself annoyed and overwhelmed after these meetings. It was strange, being so casually among others after so long as Kylo Ren, in his life of solitude, training, and meditation. Somehow, it made him feel even more isolated, in a way that he never had before.

It was something he should have wanted. He told himself he wanted it. And yet.

Hux was the only person he spoke to regularly as Kylo Ren, and he found himself craving Hux even more. It was a trial he should have pursued more diligently, a denial that would make him stronger. But it was Hux he wanted, not the trial.

Hux made a considering noise, and leaned forward again, looking more purposeful even as he brought their faces close. >”My schedule is tight. We’re ramping up the strategies for invasion, and beginning to compose the routines and exercises to begin drilling the Troopers with.”<

>”So busy.”< Kylo murmured, pleased, knowing that Hux would have said no outright if the scheduling hadn’t allowed it. He pushed harder. >”I’m lucky you take time out of your day to come and see me. These check-ins must be very important indeed.”<

Hux scowled, but didn’t pull back. >”They are. Our weapon depends on one or the other plan working, of course, and it will cost a lot of money.”< He made a low noise. >”But you’re not wrong, maybe I should see a gathering. Is there one tonight?”<

Kylo gave him a look. Of course Kylo was busy tonight. Hux looked away.

>”No, there’s not one tonight. There’s one tomorrow night. You’ll have to stay an extra day.”<

>”Fine.”<

Kylo raised his eyebrows again. >”That was quick. Don’t have to check your schedule?”<

Hux reached across and tangled his fingers in Kylo’s hair again, dragging him close for a deep, rough kiss that stole Kylo’s breath.

He pulled back, breathing for a moment and murmuring against Kylo’s lips. >”You’re awful. I shouldn’t tolerate you.”<

Kylo smiled, and he hooked Hux’s chair with his foot, dragging it around the table and next to him. He pulled Hux into his lap, positioning him so that they were face to face. Hux let it happen, steadying himself against the table with one hand and leaving his other in Kylo’s hair, his indifferent mask hiding his thoughts as always.

>”I’m such a valuable tool, though. And you’re so patient.”<

Before Kylo could elaborate just what kind of tool he was, they kissed again. Kylo’s thoughts were ringing, racing, and he was trying to fit all of this together. Hux was in his lap, kissing him, and Kylo’s hands were kneading his ass through the tight shorts he was wearing. Hux wasn’t nearly drunk enough for any of this, but was allowing it.

_This_ , he thought. _I want this_.

He couldn’t say it aloud, though he felt it through the entirety of his body, coiled tight and wanting. After they spent the night together, Hux in his bed, too hot to embrace but together just the same, Hux would be here an extra day. He’d be sober, or not. They would talk business and Kylo would take Hux to eat and listen to him complain about the food, and then Hux would watch as he worked the crowds of Makurth, manipulating their minds and spurring them on to a revolution they didn’t know they wanted.

_I want this. I want you_.

Kylo broke the kiss reluctantly, remembering that he needed to mention one more thing before he lost himself completely. He pressed his lips to Hux’s ear to whisper in Basic, as he needed to tell him about a species that he didn’t know the word for in any other language.

“Wait. There are Shi'ido, too.”

His eyes darted quickly over to the human at the bar, who still had his back to them and was extremely unlikely to eavesdrop. But his presence was suspicious, and Kylo couldn’t help but be careful. Still, they were quiet, and it was likely that the human, spy or not, had lost interest now that their meeting had commenced to its usual phase of public indecency.

Hux frowned, and murmured a low word that Kylo didn’t recognize. Kylo wanted to put his hands on Hux’s temples and try to do this with the Force, but he was sure Hux would kill him where he sat if he tried to use the Force to invade his mind like that.

”I don’t understand what you just said.”

>”The species. It can —— and look like any other species?”<

Kylo nodded enthusiastically, missing part of the explanation but knowing Hux was understanding him. He switched back to the dialect. >”I think there are some on this planet. I found them in one of the small villages on this continent I visited last week.”<

>”How did you know what they were?”<

>”The Makurth pointed them out, said they were outsiders too, and wanted to know what they thought about me.”< Kylo shrugged, then frowned, not knowing enough of the dialect for a technical explanation, so he leaned forward to whisper Basic in Hux’s ear again. ”They’re hard to detect, even with the Force, because their biorhythms mimic the species they are copying. They looked like Makurth, and I wouldn’t have known otherwise, except they shifted from Makurth to Human in front of me. I was surprised. I’ve never seen one in person before.”

Hux spoke in a low voice, not whispering into Kylo’s ear, but staying close, their bodies growing hot where they were pressed together. >”What are —————— doing here?”<

He’d tensed in Kylo’s lap, growing suspicious, and Kylo knew his thoughts would be racing with plans and possible outcomes. It helped reinforce his own suspicions. He’d always heard that, as a species, Shi'ido almost always worked as spies. The careers were lucrative, and allegedly, they enjoyed the lifestyle immensely as a species. Understandably so. They were well cared-for, and treated like royalty for their skills at mimicry. Shi'ido were said to be uncommon, and were paid extremely well by large organizations.

”I’m not sure why they’re here. I don’t think it’s good, if they revealed themselves to me like that. I thought it likely they were spying for the Orri. But I wouldn’t think the Orri could raise enough money to hire them.”

Hux nodded in agreement, the skin of his cheek dragging against the stubble on Kylo’s face, where he’d intentionally not shaved that morning. >”They’re here for some reason, and that’s the most logical one. Will there be consequences for them reporting on you?”<

”No. The Orri already know who I am. They’ve tried to send representatives to my meetings, but I tend to make them remember pressing appointments elsewhere when they arrive, so they’ve never made it through the door. I don’t think they’ll interfere directly, since it might be the last straw for the Makurth.” He paused, remembering what the Makurth had said. “Apparently the Shi'ido were against the Orri too, but I thought that might be a trick.”

Kylo felt Hux frown against his cheek. >”Why?”<

Kylo shrugged. ”To blend in? To spy? I don’t know. It’s not like the Orri don’t know the Makurth hate them. You're the strategist. You tell me why.”

Hux pulled back and looked over his shoulder. Kylo could see the distraction, the calculation, in his features. Kylo let him think in silence, but when Hux’s thoughts stretched into minutes, he brought his lips to Hux’s neck to bring him back to the present.

He earned a painful yank in his over-long hair and a disapproving look. >”I’ll have to think on it some more. Can you go back to the village where they were? Interrogate one of them?”<

”Mmm.” They both knew that the ‘interrogation’ would require kidnapping, breaking the mind, and executing one of the shi'ido. He could do it, but it would be a little tricky. Still.

”I think so. What do you want me to do after I learn why they're here?”

Hux still looked considering. >”It would be extremely useful if we could recruit them. See who’s paying them, see if they’re open to negotiations, and offer them more credits.”<

Kylo began running his palms over Hux’s ass, squeezing it again. Hux’s thin gold tunic was sticky under his sweaty forearms. He switched back to the Outer Rim dialect. >”Do we have more credits?”<

>”I can find more credits to buy a unit of ——— under the command of the First Order. We’ll pay whatever they want.”<

Kylo could tell Hux was pleased by the idea, and he decided suddenly that they’d finished everything they would accomplish at this meeting. >”When will you start paying me? Certainly my skills are more valuable than the… then theirs. I also deserve a finder’s fee.”<

He was rewarded by another painful yank at his hair. He let Hux pull his head back, baring his throat, and he kept his eyes locked to Hux’s. Hux’s indifferent mask had slid back into place, though his ears were red. His ears were his first tell for arousal, and it always pleased Kylo when it happened, that a small part of Hux was out of his control.

Hux leaned in, biting and sucking a mark low on Kylo's throat. When Hux pulled back and loosened his hold on Kylo’s hair, his indifference was gone, and he appeared to be immensely pleased with himself. He smirked, so rare for Hux, and his eyes held Kylo’s, his gaze insistent. Kylo tried not to read more than sex into it. Hux wanted his body, nothing more, but it was so easy to see more. Possession, desire, intent.

_You’re mine_.

Kylo closed his eyes and let out a low sound, wishing he could ask Hux to say it aloud, that it wouldn’t be true unless spoken. He wanted to hear it. Just once.

As if Hux could hear Kylo begging, he leaned in and kissed him, much gentler this time, and Kylo pulled him close, wrapping his arms around Hux’s back. He deepened the kiss, tasting the bitter alcohol that Hux had barely touched, feeling Hux’s breath quicken. His grip tightened, and he felt Hux’s fingers twine in his hair again, more gently this time.

Hux broke the kiss, leaning away and moving his hands to cup Kylo’s face, stroking his thumbs against the roughness of his unshaven cheeks. >”You’re right. They should know my face, just so it doesn’t seem suspicious that we keep meeting.”<

Kylo made another low noise, almost a growl. He had delivered his important information, they had gone through the steps of the meeting. He wanted Hux, now, for his good behavior. But, replaying Hux’s statement through his mind, it almost made him laugh, the thought that Hux’s presence was somehow _secret_.

Kylo had chosen the Ho’din bar because it was quieter. The Makurth couldn’t drink the Ho’din liquor, so only a handful of Ho’din and other species ever patronized them. Kylo often wondered how they stayed in business. But if Hux thought that was enough to keep him from being spotted, especially now that Kylo’s reputation was growing, he was being willfully ignorant. Maybe he didn’t notice the other human, persistently at the bar, who quietly slipped out when they began holding each other. Nothing about what they did was secret, except for their actual mission.

There were many things that Hux was ignorant of, willfully or otherwise. Propriety. His own goddamn rules. The fact that Kylo wanted, _needed_  this to happen so badly he could taste it.

It was too long between visits. He was a mess, mentally, just before Hux arrived. He was always too excited, too rattled, to properly work the Makurth for almost a whole day in advance. But Hux would never sit and hear it. Not now, but maybe someday. Soon.

Still, he could have a little fun with Hux, now that he was in his lap. Push just a bit harder. A taste of reality, maybe.

>”Mission failed, General. We’ve been seen together several times. They’ve seen you leaving my rooms, and entering it, and some of the humans even told the Makurth what we get up to in this very public bar.”<

Hux stiffened and tried to pull away, but Kylo left his hands on his waist, keeping him in place. >”It’s fine. They don’t suspect anything.”<

When Hux tried harder to pull back, Kylo made a considering noise and elaborated. >”I mean, they don’t suspect who we are. I’m not sure what _you’re_  thinking.”<

And rather than let Hux read too much into the situation, Kylo let his mouth stray behind Hux’s ear, where he licked the exact spot where he had seen the sweat when Hux walked in. It was salty and hot, and just as sweet as he’d imagined. He licked up into Hux’s hairline and let one of his hands stray between them to palm the erection in the front of Hux’s shorts.

Stars. If the shorts were any smaller, his erection would show itself from either the hem or the waistband. _Where_  did Hux keep getting these clothes? Was he doing this on purpose?

Hux responded by sucking and biting at Kylo’s collarbone, then biting lightly on his earlobe.

>”I think you know exactly what I’m thinking, Knight.”< He licked behind the shell of Kylo’s ear, then whispered in Basic.

“Fine. You win. Let these primitives think what they will of us, as long as they don’t know the mission.”

Kylo shivered, and his grip on Hux tightened.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They execute a Kylo-looking alien at the beginning, so you can skip past the first image if you need to bypass that.
> 
> I made up a lot of things about cortosis! It's a very rare mineral that stops lightsabers, but its appearance, Force properties, and usefulness as part of Starkiller are all made up.

Kylo had to slow himself down as he threw open the door of the bar, his heart racing and the Force pounding, black and dark around him. He threw the door so hard that it ricocheted off the wall and nearly slammed into him again, and he steadied it, hand clenching around the edge as he willed his eyes to adjust to the dim interior. He could sense it, sense something wrong, something the matter. Part of his mind knew he should take in the bar first - this was a new city, he had never been here. He’d gotten the name off the recommendation of one of the guild leaders in Foris. It was dangerous to just barge in. He didn’t know who frequented it, or whether he was walking into a blatant trap that would give his identity up spectacularly and ruin the mission.

He knew all this, but he couldn’t do it, and instead he searched frantically for Hux. There were more tables at this bar, though it was a Ho’din establishment. This town was larger, and there were a handful more Ho’din and off-worlders here. Still, at this time of the morning, most of the seats were empty. There were a half-dozen Ho’din at the tables, three humans at the bar, and a table of four Fftssffts, from a nearby settlement that Kylo found baffling and out of place. None had stirred to look up at Kylo’s loud entrance. All were absorbed in their drinks, almost all of them drinking the blue Norazza liquor that the Ho’din brewed, every being slumped lifelessly over in the heat of the day.

Except for one table in the corner, where Hux and an exact duplicate of Kylo were engaged in conversation. The duplicate was sitting with its back to the door, leaning across the table, unaware that Kylo had entered. It reached across and touched the back of Hux’s hand, where it rested against his glass.

Kylo’s vision went red. When it cleared, he was standing behind the Shi'ido, one hand over its mouth, the other at its temple. He might as well have teleported. He could feel the warm blood running out of its nose and trickling thickly across the hand he had clamped over its mouth.

“Fuck!” Hux exclaimed, reeling back in his seat almost hard enough to tip over.

Kylo grit his teeth, and made the supreme effort of summoning the Outer Rim dialect to his raging thoughts, his one concession to their current mission. >”Shoot it with your blaster, _General_.” <

Hux blinked, still staring into the Shi'ido’s face, a double of Kylo, then back into Kylo’s. He was trying to visibly gather himself, and failing, and Kylo would have enjoyed it immensely had he not still had the blinding rage and anger throbbing through his jaw.

Hux swallowed, taking in Kylo’s anger and trying to visibly gather himself, his hand weakly going to his blaster. >”Seems a little excessive now.”<

“ _Do it,_ ” Kylo hissed, and he would never be sure if he’d used a mind trick on Hux or if Hux simply hadn’t argued with him. It would have been a first.

Hux unholstered his blaster and fired a single shot through the forehead of the Shi'ido, the power on the blaster low enough that the shot didn’t go through the back of its skull. Its head softened and collapsed in Kylo’s hands, and he threw it to the floor, disgusted. He glanced around the room, still furious, and saw one of the humans escaping out the door. The rest of the eyes were predictably on Kylo. The humans were giving him blank looks. The Ho’din were looking too, but their expressions were still somewhat of a mystery to Kylo. Their head snakes swayed and snapped in agitation. The Fftssffts, a species of botanical life-forms with green-black skin whose heads and backs were covered with long, bushy yellow spines, were even more of a mystery. Kylo had always heard they weren’t quite sentient. He could not discern faces, though they were all leaning towards him now. He kept his eyes on them as they slowly settled back into place, shifting towards each other at their own table once again.

Once the Fftssffts had settled back into place, he turned to the rest of the room and barked a dismissal in Ho’din. He took the chair across from Hux and poured the Shi'ido’s drink over its body, watching the blue alcohol stain the brown and beige smuggler rags that the Shi'ido had chosen so expertly, exactly like something Kylo would have worn.  In death, amazingly, it still looked exactly like Kylo. Kylo recognized the pants, boots, and tunic as his own, the only mis-step in its appearance the fact that he never wore his long hair braided up to see Hux.

He dumped the ice over its mangled, lifeless face, watching the packed dirt floor absorb the liquid, then threw the cup to the ground and gestured angrily for a new one.

Hux looked at him mildly, sipping at his own drink while Kylo gathered his thoughts and willed himself calm again. It was difficult. His thoughts were continually flashing to the Shi'ido’s hand on Hux’s, and he picked at the tabletop, made out of a kind of pale green woven reed, as an alternative to smashing his fist through it in a rage. He couldn’t meet Hux’s eyes.

He was angry enough that he was pushing against the minds of everyone at the bar, including Hux’s. The alien Ho’din thoughts would have taken more focus to parse, and the Fftssffts were coming across as only vague impressions of sunlight and shadow. But the humans were clear enough, and Hux especially so. Hux very clearly wanted to ask Kylo how he knew Hux wasn’t a Shi'ido.

” _Don’t_ ,” Kylo advised him simply, burying his face in his hands and willing himself calmer. Hux wondered if Kylo was reading his mind, a spike of agitation coloring the thought, but he decided it was best to take Kylo’s advice and not ask. Kylo felt a fleeting moment of concern, quickly buried, but that did more to calm him down than his own efforts.

Kylo heard the glass clink against the table as the bartender set it down and retreated. He counted his breaths until Hux spoke.

>”I take it you finally found the cell of Shi'ido?”<

 

 

Kylo had been trying to locate the Shi'ido for a month. They hadn’t been in the small village where he’d seen them before, at least as far as he could determine. None of the Makurth seemed to understand what outsiders he had been asking after, or claimed that the group had left town just after he had. In an effort to locate them, Kylo had launched a campaign to encourage the Makurth to recruit more off-worlders to their cause, which produced an army of humans, a handful of Gamorrean guards from the space ports, some Twi’lek traders, and a lone Whiphid bounty hunter, but no Shi'ido that he could sense. He’d taken the extra effort of interrogating and breaking the mind of the Whiphid bounty hunter - a loner always stood out, and he himself was using a near-identical disguise. But either the Shi'ido were more resistant his particular type of torture than he’d yet encountered, or the Whiphid had been telling the truth. He’d found nothing after hours of probing that had started carefully and ended less so. The bounty hunter had been a broken, babbling mess, and Kylo had not found any ins with the Shi'ido. Kylo had executed him afterwards, disgusted with the waste of time.

He’d gone back to the village later, determined to find someone who would recognize one of the Shi'ido. He’d asked every sentient he could find, but nobody seemed to understand his request for the off-worlders that looked like Makurth, or even know what he was talking about.

The Shi'ido had made themselves known to him two weeks ago. He began to have conversations with some of his contacts a second time, the contacts always claiming ignorance of having spoken to him recently. It was a huge red flag, and Kylo became more vigilant, but he never spotted them. Infuriatingly, he’d only realize days later that he’d spoken to one. There was absolutely nothing about the Shi'ido that was different from a regular Makurth, or human, or any other species that had begun to gather for the Moltok Rebellion. Pressing harder on the minds of those around him led to them subconsciously avoiding and fearing him more, which wasn’t currently an option.

Hux had switched their meetings to weekly after Kylo began looking for the spies in earnest. This had pleased Kylo, until Hux had begun to make a nuisance of himself, insisting that Kylo find the Shi'ido before the situation spiraled out of control. He did absolutely nothing to help, which was exasperating. Of course Kylo knew he had to find them, and find out what they were doing. But _finding_  the Shi'ido was precisely why they were so valuable, and his own skills made that task no easier.

They’d had a heated argument about Kylo’s lack of progress last week, and parted on bad terms. So when Hux had shown up the next day, wanting to make amends, Kylo had been thrilled, and hadn’t questioned Hux’s good mood.

Until it had been a little… _too_  good. He’d been rather excited to see Hux, but Hux was never as… eager to see Kylo as he had been that day. In the privacy of his rooms, he had pressed into Hux’s mind as he kissed him deeply, hoping that the intimacy would make the intrusion easier, begging forgiveness if he was wrong.

He hadn’t been. He had blown apart the body of the Shi'ido with his wrath. He’d wished he drawn out the process longer.

Another had attempted to impersonated Hux two days ago, trying to draw him away from a meeting with urgent business from “an offworld contact.” Kylo had known better, had gone along with it until the two of them were alone, and then tried interrogating it. When the Shi'ido had felt the intrusion into its mind, it had promptly morphed into a humanoid that Kylo had never seen before, secreting some sort of biotoxin that made Kylo’s hands and skin go numb from where he had been embracing it, in the spirit of its Hux disguise.

It twisted out of Kylo’s grip and attempted to morph again, into an insectoid with powerful back legs. Kylo knew whatever it was could move faster than Kylo himself, so he reacted fast, holding it in place with the Force long enough to kill its mind. He couldn’t risk interrogating it out in the open. He couldn’t take his time with it, nor could he guarantee enough concentration and lack of distraction to both rifle through its mind and hold it in place, knowing it would morph again if he needed to touch it. And he couldn’t risk it getting away or sending a comm about his abilities. So with regret, he had killed it, leaving the giant insectoid body in the alley, jarring and out of place.

When he had tried to go to his scheduled meeting afterwards, he’d found over a hundred Makurth executed at the underground club, including the third-in-command of the fledgling rebellion. The room had been an abattoir, the Makurth had been beaten to death, rather than executed cleanly with energy weapons. It had been a warning, and Kylo had been thankful he’d not been present. He likely would have needed to use his abilities to escape.

But he didn’t feel like detailing his failure to Hux just yet, nor did he wish to reveal how badly he’d been affected by the Shi'ido impersonating Hux.

Kylo was the one that drained his drink in three swallows today, needing something, anything, unable to calm down. He gave Hux what he knew for certain.

>”They are working for the Orri. Apparently the Orri do sell the Ho’din they capture as slaves, and they are particularly desirable on the galactic market. Very lucrative, and they have the only ones in the galaxy under their thumb. So it was worth it for the Orri to hire the Shi'ido to quash the little rebellion and sabotage the leaders. If they did it themselves, it would only make the situation worse. But if someone from outside was killing the Makurth and Ho’din…”< Kylo scowled into his empty cup. >”The Orri could intervene, look like heroes, and lose nothing doing it.”<

Or at least he thought so. It was speculation, but Hux didn’t need to know that.

>”Did they refuse to be hired away from that cause?”<

Kylo’s scowl deepened, and he slammed his palm against the table, looking up into Hux’s eyes, furious, and the truth escaped unbidden. >”They impersonated you. Twice.”<

Hux blinked at him again. >”And?”<

Kylo snorted, and looked back down into his empty cup, gripping it in both hands tightly. He didn’t want to tell Hux, that he couldn’t stand the thought of them wearing his expressions, his eyes, his hair, his skin, touching Kylo with his hands, kissing Kylo with his mouth-

His thick glass cup shattered, and he pulled his hands away from the mess, looking at the few bleeding cuts. He gripped the side of the table instead, making the weaved surface creak. He looked back up at Hux, the dark surging out again so he could feel Hux’s surprise. Not afraid - Hux was never afraid, even in his worst moments, and something about that calmed him. Though not completely.

>”And negotiations failed.”<

Hux was silent a moment, then took a sip of his own drink. >”So how do you know I’m not a Shi'ido right now? How I do I know that you aren’t?”<

Kylo snorted, relaxing and crossing his arms across his chest. This was comfortable. He was certain of Hux. He could deal with the situation now. It was okay.

>”You know I’m not a Shi'ido because you just watched me give one an aneurysm.”< He had ordered Hux shoot it in order to cover the mis-step - he didn’t want anyone reporting that he could kill with a touch. He let that go, confident that Hux wouldn’t mention it, and raised his eyebrows. >”Or do you think that’s a special Shi'ido power?”<

Hux snorted. >”A Shi'ido couldn’t mimic your annoying responses this well.”<

His memory supplied him with the voice of the Shi'ido in his rooms, Hux’s voice. Its hands had been in his hair, looking at him with Hux’s eyes, his angry expression, whispering to him in Hux’s low murmur. ” _Bastard. You would have let me walk away for a week, wouldn’t you?_ ”

He felt his nails dig into the flesh of his bicep, drawing blood, and he clearly heard Hux think _It’s him it’s him I’d know him anywhere how could he think-_

“Don’t be so sure about that,” he growled, angry enough to switch back to Basic for a moment, then relaxed, switching back into the Outer Rim dialect. >”They know far more than they should.”< He studied Hux across the table, their security protocols, running possible explanations for their meeting today through his head and assessing how likely they were.

>”I don’t think they knew where we were supposed to meet today, only that we do meet, and frequently.”< He and Hux always decided the next meeting place, in person, the week before. >”They probably just followed you from the spaceport.”<

Or he hoped so. It was very unlikely they were able to monitor their discussions in bed, in rooms that not even Kylo could predict beforehand.

Hux shook his head. >”How did they know when I was to arrive, and when we were to meet, then?”<

Kylo scowled, then let his anger wash through him, trying to remain calm. >”I’ve been getting delayed before and after meetings and rallies all week, usually held up by two or three people. I didn’t think anything of it until the second time a Shi'ido tried to impersonate you, and then I realized the delays were longer and longer.”<

They had also executed an entire faction then, but Kylo would break that to Hux later.

>”I think they were watching for you from the spaceport, so when you showed up they knew I’d be held up somewhere. They could follow you and impersonate me.”< He grit his teeth, tightened his grip on his biceps again. He’d had a bad feeling he couldn’t shake all day, and it had grown nearly oppressive after he finished up at the rally he’d been at earlier. He needed to meet with Hux, but running off would have blown his cover, would have wasted five months of work, and he had been too agitated to push gently on their minds to make them go away, it would have destroyed them in the state he’d been in, but he’d been right, and he’d walked in, one had been _touching Hux_ -

He cut off his thoughts, calming himself down slightly, but not enough. He then asked the question that he had been dreading the past three days, picturing and worrying and trying to find ways to avoid. He asked about the thing he hadn’t wanted to ever know, but had walked in on anyway.

>”Did you know it wasn’t me? When it was talking to you?”<

Hux shook his head, giving him another mild look. >”I can’t read their minds, and it wasn’t here more than a few moments before you. No, I hadn’t realized it yet.”< The implication was, of course, that he would have.

But he wouldn’t have.

Kylo felt desolate for a moment, not sure how to make Hux understand just how skillful they were. He wouldn’t have known, ever, and they would have taken him, touched him, killed him. Kylo would have watched-

But the scenario suddenly flipped itself in his mind, and he smirked. He knew how to drive the point home, and was angry enough to do it. He felt the dark surge through him like a poison, and gripped the side of the table again, tighter this time, as he leaned forward.

>”A shame. I got quite far with my Shi'ido before realizing it wasn’t you. I think you would have had some fun with him. I certainly did.”<

At this, Hux sat up straighter, his gaze narrowing. >”You didn’t. You’d be able to…”< Hux gestured with his hand. >”You’re a mind reader. They wouldn’t work on you.”<

Kylo leaned forward. >”I told you before, _Armitage_ ,”< He leaned on the name, which Hux hated. They had avoided calling each other by name here - Kylo was going by Scram, a common enough code name among smugglers to be untraceable. >”I can’t tell the difference between a Shi'ido and anything else.”< He gripped Hux lightly by the chin. >”I just thought you’d missed me, and learned some new tricks. Maybe looked some things up on the holonet. I liked it. You were a lot of fun.”< He frowned, mocking him. >”But it wasn’t you after all.”<

He could feel Hux’s steel grip around his wrist, could feel the bones grinding together as Hux grabbed and squeezed, the color rushing up his face as he lapsed back into his expressionless mask. Kylo kept a mocking grin plastered on his face and savored Hux’s rage, could feel it feeding his own.

“What did it do,” Hux demanded in Basic. It wasn’t a question. Hux may not have realized how it left him utterly open to Kylo’s manipulation, and Kylo fully planned to take advantage.

Kylo attempted to use Hux’s iron grip to pull him across the small tabletop. Hux yanked back, and Kylo sprawled across the table instead, still grinning up into Hux’s fury. He decided to continue in Basic, not caring if any spy thought the operative had gotten close enough to him to bed him.

“What _didn’t_  it do? It was angry. So angry. Just like you were when you left. I thought you must have been…” He touched the tip of his tongue to his top lip, considering Hux’s rage. “Looking to vent. To try new things.” He closed his eyes, feigning remembrance. “It had me screaming your name as it fucked me into the mattress.” Which was what had happened both times Kylo had brought up a previous lover. He was hoping for repeat enthusiasm within the next hour.

He opened his eyes, and smiled as he saw Hux’s mask crack and dissolve in the face of his fury. His eyes were absolutely murderous, and he gritted his teeth and nearly snarled as he pulled Kylo closer. Kylo slid off the table and let Hux pull his chair closer to his own, let Hux’s painful grip on his wrist guide his arm over and behind his back, twisting it painfully at the shoulder.

“It didn’t touch you. _You’d be able to tell_ ,” Hux insisted, closing his eyes and visibly trying to calm himself. “You’re just trying to wind me up.”

Kylo shook his head, smiling, then spoke when he realized Hux was leaving his eyes closed. “It touched me.” He glanced around the bar, but there was only Ho’din and humans and Fftssffts, and it didn’t matter. He lowered his voice anyway, leaned in closer to Hux. “And that’s what I’m trying to tell you. _I can’t tell_.”

The thought of one laying a hand on Hux flashed across his mind, and he quashed it. This wouldn’t work if he was letting himself get angry too. The point was to let go, and to give his rage to Hux, to let Hux exorcise it for the both of them. Hux needed to be angry enough to snap. He was so close. Kylo leaned up, centimeters from Hux’s face, his scowl and his closed eyes.

“But I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to try one out. It looks like me, so it’s not a lot different.” He blinked, looked down, then back up, dismissing his own jealousy at the thought. Hux. This was about Hux. Make Hux picture it.

“Yours wasn’t different, anyway. Maybe you would have learned something new. Something you liked better?”

This was far more calming than any attempt at clearing his thoughts with meditation would have been, and he was almost joyful as Hux’s free hand came up and pulled his head back by the hair at the base of his neck. He bared his throat gladly, happy to have passed his frustrations on to Hux. It had been so easy.

” _It didn’t touch you,_ ” Hux continued to insist, his eyes opening, his face vivid with rage. Kylo only smiled and arched his eyebrows.

“It’s okay. I know you’re lonely on that ship by yourself. Trust me, I know the feeling. A week was too long. Two weeks was… definitely too much.” His smile broadened. He had been too affectionate, with two weeks passing without Hux. This was much better. Still, he craved more. He craved something else from Hux in this moment, something other than his anger and the jealousy that was so thick he could nearly taste it.

So he pushed. He pushed, even though he knew better.

“Don’t think I don’t remember who suggested we meet more frequently. And don’t think I don’t know _why_.”

He was surprised when Hux all but threw him back into his chair, and he grabbed the table to steady himself.

Hux closed his eyes and took several breaths, the red color receding from his face. His expression was almost back to his usual sour distaste when he opened them again. And Kylo was impressed, as always, at how easy it was for Hux to mask himself from those around him using nothing but self-control.

“Well, with that much baiting, I know nothing happened.”

How like Hux, to ignore Kylo’s more probing comments, for that to be the thing that made Kylo’s identity clear. Kylo smiled, somewhat more genuinely this time, but sobered quickly. “Not exactly nothing, but it’s still not a good situation.”

Hux leaned forward, and now Kylo was sitting close enough that their shoulders almost brushed. Hux played with the glass in front of him, and switched back to their private Outer Rim dialect. >“If this is happening, how are we supposed to know when we meet a Shi'ido instead of each other?”< He leaned back. >“I assume you have some Force nonsense to solve this problem? Reading my thoughts?”<

He had an indifferent look on his face, but Kylo knew he didn’t make the suggestion lightly. Hux would hate that, and it was charming that he’d let Kylo do it now. It also let Kylo know that Hux hadn’t completely suppressed his jealousy, which boded well for later.

Kylo cocked his head in mock consideration, but he was already desperate to try it. >“Would you let me do it now? I’d have to do it right away, since we both know we are who we say we are. You’d know what it felt like, and I’d know you.” _Inside_ , he thought. _I’d know you inside and out, I’d get it all, I’d know-_

>”Fine,”< Hux ground out, looking away, and Kylo was so surprised by the easy assent he almost didn’t understand. He blinked, processing both the consent and Hux’s reluctance. He really should try to make it easier on him. But there was no way that he’d let the opportunity pass.

He reached across the table and stroked Hux’s hair with his fingers, lightly, before resting his fingertips against his temples. He leaned in closer, positioning his lips just in front of Hux’s. Hux closed his eyes, looking the same as always, and Kylo closed his eyes in answer, bringing their lips together, more of a touch than a kiss. But the intimacy would help, it would make the connection stronger, smoother, and more natural.

As an afterthought, he noted it would likely look more natural to the others in the bar, as well.

He pushed gently, and he felt slight resistance before Hux let him in. The lack of resistance, the permission, was a sudden shock. Kylo had never entered another’s mind with their full consent before, and he was so overwhelmed by the permission that he nearly flooded Hux’s mind with himself, with his eagerness, before he could pull back enough to mask his own thoughts again.

Hux was-

Resignation. Defiance. The low-burning, all-consuming rage that Kylo had felt before, that had been his own and so familiar before he passed it on to Hux. And a low litany, the thing that Hux was telling himself over and over again.

 _Didn’t touch him didn’t touch him they didn’t touch him he was lying he wanted you to grab him they didn’t touch him_  he wouldn’t let them touch him-

Kylo tamped down his own glee, tried to even out his own emotions. But it was hard, because Hux was still thinking about what happened, had barely contained it below a thin layer of civility. He was _so jealous_ , and Kylo deepened their kiss, tasting the bitterness of the Shi'ido on Hux’s tongue.

Kylo set his glee aside, and tried to push Hux harder, tried to get him to think of something else.

_Hux, you’re thinking about what happened, which doesn’t help me when that isn’t happening. Pretend I just walked through the door. You just saw me. It’s been a week. What do you think?_

Kylo felt every defense Hux had go up before he jerked backwards. Kylo opened his eyes to find Hux glaring at him.

>”I think you’ve had enough. If you can’t tell it’s me when you’re reading my mind, you don’t deserve to be on this mission.”<

Kylo stayed leaned forward, in Hux’s personal space. They were sitting so close together that Hux couldn’t pull away. He made himself look innocent. >”Worth a try, wasn’t it?”<

Hux rolled his eyes, but didn’t reply. Kylo sat up, giving Hux some space back, and put his hand in his pocket.

>”I’ve been thinking about this for a few days,”< he said more seriously. >”I can tell if it’s you or not if I read someone’s mind, but if we’re somewhere public, like this,”< he gestured around to the Ho’din, who, in fairness, never paid either of them any attention, but his point still stood. >”I’d…”<

He paused, again, and decided to continue honestly, since Hux had just let him read his thoughts.

>”If they looked like you, and weren’t, I’d kill them as soon as I realized it. I wouldn’t be able to stop myself. I might be able to hide it once or twice, but it would begin to look suspicious. I’d have to kiss them and touch their temple like that every time, and then I'd kill them. Eventually they’d have a reason not to do that, or would just have someone else around to watch, like that human that escaped earlier.”< He jerked a thumb over his shoulder to indicate the door. >”And I don’t want it to get out that I’m a Force user.”<

>”So carry a blaster.”<

>”Why, so I can kiss them, pull back, and immediately shoot them?”< He smirked. >”That might give your sweet lips a reputation that you don’t want, Armitage. How would I know you with a kiss?”<

Hux rolled his eyes again, and leaned forward. >”You don’t have to immediately shoot them. You can have a conversation with them. Make them think you’re fooled.”< Hux gestured with one hand, annoyed. >”Act a little. Certainly you’re getting better at that.”<

Kylo shook his head. >”I’m not really acting when I’m here. I’m not very good at deceptions. Or socializing. I told you, that’s all…”< He waved a hand between them in illustration.

Hux leaned farther forward, closer to Kylo, almost in his lap again, a spark of anger in his face. >”You can talk to me just fine. And deceive me too, apparently.”<

Kylo grinned. >”About my sexual partners here? Oh, there’s a lot. I get very lonely.”<

Hux scowled and leaned further back. >”And you’re not a smuggler. Your entire mission relies heavily on your abilities to deceive others. It’s what you’re _supposed_  to be good at.”<

>”I told you, I can deceive with the Force. Other things, not as much. I don't need to be better at it.” Kylo ran a hand through his hair, which was even longer and more loose, though not as sweaty as normal - they were in a cooler part of the planet. >”And smuggling’s not a life I’m unfamiliar with, so I can fake it.”< He glanced crookedly at Hux, who looked away, then back.

>”So make it work. You always make the mission work.”<

>”I’ve got something else in mind that doesn’t involve using my power when I need to keep it hidden.”< He pulled his hand out of his pocket, and set a metallic black ball down on the table. It made a muffled sound as it connected with the woven top, and the wood fibers kept it from rolling away. It reflected back the bar in miniature in its sides, the low light from the wall fixtures glinting around it like a halo.

Hux glanced down at it, then back up. >”So what is it?”<

>”Cortosis. I got a sample from one of the Makurth that mine it.”<

Hux sucked in a breath, reached out a hand to touch it, then jerked it away, looking back up at Kylo. >”How does it help us?”<

Kylo picked up the sphere and spun it between his fingers. >”It’s extremely sensitive to outside influence, and the types of energies it reacts to. As you well know.”< He glanced up at Hux, who nodded. >”It’s also extremely reactive to the Force. In a limited way. It stops plasma weapons dead, of course, and resists simple manipulation. But Force users can impress their will on it. It takes a lot of effort and concentration, not something one does in the middle of battle. But for cortosis armor, it’s ideal. It keys to the user.”<

He glanced back up at Hux’s face, which cleared of confusion, and he looked sharply at Kylo. >”Can we use cortosis to detect Force users? Is it that simple?”<

>”Not exactly.”< He squinted, and the sphere split into two smaller spheres, which fell into his palm. He’d been working with it extensively since he acquired it, so it knew his touch. He looked around the bar, but the line of sight to their table was concealed, the cortosis hidden by his own broad back. >”But it will work between us. Give me your hand”<

Hux held out his right hand, and Kylo instead grabbed the left, winking up at Hux when he looked annoyed.

He glanced back to Hux’s left hand, then up at Hux, amazed that Hux trusted him enough to do… _something_  to his hand with the cortosis. He almost felt like he should ask for permission, and he felt his face show some of his hesitation. But when Hux’s features hardened incrementally, he let the impulse pass. His hand shook for a moment, but he steadied it, and focused once again on Hux’s fingers. They were so soft, Hux always kept them in gloves. They were warm. Hux was letting him do this, this thing he’d decided was necessary, without comment.

 

 

He cleared his mind.

He set one of the small spheres down on the table, and held the other up to Hux’s ring finger. He closed his eyes and concentrated. He’d called off his meetings for three days, meditating with the cortosis, imbuing it with a sense of himself in the Force. He’d also planned and traced the patterns he wanted to use, first on a datapad, then on paper, then finally in his mind, again and again. He could draw them as easily as breathing.

He did so now, drawing one of the patterns around Hux’s finger with the cortosis, directly into his skin. He could feel it shiver and shift, slide around and into the softness of Hux’s flesh, embed itself into tissue and muscle. He took away the pain as he did it, with the hand that was holding Hux’s wrist, and Hux did not struggle. In fact, when the cortosis was finally in place, etched into the pores and tissue and muscle of his finger, Kylo could sense that Hux was faintly impressed, then annoyed.

>”A ring. You made a ring out of cortosis, which is so precious and rare that we need to spend a year and considerable credits and resources to get enough to shield the weapon properly.”< He gave Kylo a dark look. >”And this will help- who, exactly? Me detect you? You detect me? Or are you just making a fool out of me?”<

Kylo shrugged, then smiled. >”It works both ways. Give me a minute and I’ll show you.”< He picked the other sphere off the table with his right hand and held it over his left ring finger, closing his eyes.

“Must you?”

Kylo cracked one eye open at the inquiry in Basic, and gave Hux a dark look. Hux made a face, obviously objecting to the hand Kylo was using, but he wisely didn’t elaborate. Instead, he crossed his arms and sat back, gesturing with his left hand. >”Fine. Get on with it.”<

Kylo closed his eyes, a little more annoyed than overwhelmed this time. He tried to clear his thoughts again, knowing that this was Significant, perhaps in a way that he wasn’t being entirely honest about with Hux. It troubled him now, but he’d done this so many times in his mind that he knew he could do it flawlessly.

He let the cortosis shift around his finger and burrow into his skin, stifling his own pain as he let it react, absorb, and release the Force as it flowed through him. He exhaled sharply and opened his eyes, staring down at it, feeling the anomaly on his body. It was sore from melding with his skin, and he felt it like a small aberration in a way that a regular tattoo or piercing wouldn’t be felt. He’d get used to it.

He looked up at Hux, who looked amazed, first at Kylo, then down at his hand and back. “I can… feel it. _You_ ,” he supplied, the rare shock registering on his face. “You’re… annoyed at it, for some reason.”

Kylo frowned. He hadn’t thought that Hux would be able to pick up his thoughts like that, even the barest hint of them, but he was glad it worked. But he felt Hux’s wonder tug at his finger, and could clearly feel that Hux was amazed by the ring, but most particularly by Kylo, and what he could do. Kylo closed his eyes a moment and savored it. This was a good idea. His reservations vanished. He knew Hux was as pleased by the connection as he was.

Hux was rubbing the thumb of his right hand over where the cortosis had tattooed his skin. Kylo did the same. It wasn’t quite like wearing cloth or flexible metal, but it didn’t quite feel like flesh, either. It was cold, and black, and the delicate design stood out starkly in contrast to his finger.

>”How does it work?”< Hux asked, switching back to their Outer Rim dialect, still looking excited, forgetting to look impassive, unimpressed, aloof. Kylo wondered how long it would take for him to realize and suppress his emotions again. Then he smiled, realizing that he’d still be able to feel them, no matter what Hux was smothering in his reactions.

>”The cortosis will absorb energy. So it absorbs you, in the Force, as it flows through you. Not a lot, it just passes through it. But its specialty is dissipating energy, and it reacts to itself. Because it’s so rare, and I have it on me doing the same thing, they will react to each other, and the Force passes between them. So we are sharing ourselves, in the Force.”<

Hux frowned, still rubbing at his finger. >”Forget I asked.”< He looked back up at Kylo. >”Does it react differently if we are close to other cortosis? Once we are on the weapon?”<

Kylo glanced to the side. He didn’t have a certain answer for this, but he was fairly sure. >”No. We’re connected, and this cortosis should know itself. It won’t react any differently.”< He looked back. >”It should be the same, even if I use some of the cortosis for my own armor.”<

Hux scowled. >”And when did you decide to give yourself that bonus? We find only one known source of cortosis in the galaxy, which we need every part of to shield the weapon, and you decide to use it for personal armor?”<

Kylo grinned insincerely, leaning into Hux’s shoulder. >”You mean, the source of cortosis that I am spending a year of my life securing? The amount I will need to build armor will be insignificant compared to the amount we use on the weapon.”<

Hux waved a hand through the air, dismissing Kylo. >”It’s unnecessary.”<

>”It’s very necessary, for what I have in mind.”<

Hux raised an eyebrow. Kylo felt his annoyance thrumming in his finger, against the ring, and he thrilled to it. He also felt Hux’s curiousity.

>”And what do you have in mind?”<

Kylo looked down, stroking his thumb over his new tattoo again. >”A few personal fights where cortosis armor will be useful.”<

They were proof against lightsabers, one of the only materials known in the galaxy that could completely dissipate and negate them, along with any sort of plasma weapon. It would also deflect slugthrowers and most melee weapons that weren’t heavy enough to physically crush. It was one of the reasons that Hux and the other engineers were so adamant to have it to shield the various structures on the weapon. It would be proof against almost any sort of outside attack, were the planet-wide shields to fail.

But he needed it if he wanted to hunt Luke Skywalker.

He glanced back up at Hux, who was now studying him curiously, no doubt sensing his dark thoughts. But he didn’t ask, instead looking back down to study his new tattoo.

>”Does the design mean anything?”<

>”No,”< Kylo lied readily.

It was their names, in the Atrisian alphabet. It had been used by the elite in the Empire, and for highly confidential information communicated directly from the Emperor. His mother had learned how to write and decode confidential Imperial messages during the war, and she had taught Ben and Han Atrisian as a way to keep their communications private. Ben had hated using it as a child, but the knowledge stuck. He’d never seen it used within the First Order, and had guessed, correctly, that Hux would be unfamiliar with it.

Hux’s ring was broader and thicker, with KYLO REN spelled out between two thin black bands all the way around his finger. His own had a more chaotic design, more letters to fit - ARMITAGE HUX.

>”It was just a pattern, a reflection of my thoughts.”<

Hux frowned, and Kylo felt a pull of suspicion from Hux. >”Why is yours so much more intricate?”<

>”It’s harder to do on yourself.”<

Hux was still suspicious, but he was rubbing at the ring, and looked back down, the wonder back on his face. >”You’re… very happy.”< He closed his eyes, and opened them again. >”Is this what your Force feels like?”<

Kylo rubbed his own finger idly. >”I’m not sure what you’re sensing from me. But to me, sometimes I can sense these kinds of feelings from you, yes. It’s making them easier to pick up on.”< He glanced up again, scowling. >”But this is an oversimplification.”<

Hux reached out and grabbed his left hand, and an overwhelming feeling of _Hux_  surged powerfully into him, so overwhelming that he had to close his eyes. Hux was fascinated, excited, euphoric, _aroused_  by the connection to Kylo.

Kylo made a low noise, and opened his eyes. Hux was blinking down at the table, not looking at him. A strategic retreat. Was it as powerful for him? Were Kylo’s feelings as obvious?

 _Hux_.

He looked at Hux’s hands, which were back around his hardly touched drink, and he thought again of that Shi'ido, touching him, touching _Hux_ , and the feeling of rage and jealousy seared through him. He looked at Hux’s face, who blinked, and he thought earlier of inciting Hux with the same feelings of jealousy, so easy to trigger in the other man with hypothetical situations.

Well.

He sank to his knees on the dirt floor of the bar, his hands around Hux’s calves, his knees a meter from the Shi'ido they had executed earlier, laying entirely forgotten next to their table, still dressed like and looking exactly like Kylo. He would do it as often as necessary, as long as they interfered. He turned back to Hux and pushed the thoughts of the Shi'ido away.

Hux’s hand went to the back of his head, his fingers stroking through his hair, the sweat and dampness of their previous meetings absent. It was the hand with the cortosis tattoo, and he could feel the contact hot against his scalp, Hux’s arousal beating against his own, he closed his eyes for a moment and leaned back into Hux’s hand, that feeling of Hux _wanting_ _him_.

Today, Hux wore a kind of drab olive-gray robe, the loose skirt coming down the the ankles of his shiny regulation boots, the tunic itself belted, but open at the chest and sleeveless. It was otherwise unadorned and plain. It still didn’t blend with local fashion, but the colors didn’t make him stand out as much, and he did not look like a First Order General. Kylo would hardly complain about the skirts of the robe, either, the way they teased and flashed Hux’s calves inside his black boots and his bare thighs as he shifted on his chair, the pale, smooth skin that was so firm, his muscles flexing underneath. Additionally, Hux had done him the favor of not wearing underwear, which was another benefit to the robe.

Kylo’s hands ran up the tight boots until he found Hux’s bare skin, then he rucked the robe up until he could see his lovely thighs more completely, the tiny copper hairs against his skin. He pulled Hux closer to the edge of the high chair, and then began nosing into the darkness further up. His fingers came up and began unbuckling the wide belt - the one from his uniform, his fingers told him - and tried to open the front of the robes for better access.

Hux fisted his hair, and Kylo could feel him forcing his head more towards his erection.

“No,” he said aloud. “Right now.”

Kylo paused. Hux only made demands when he was well into drink, was clinging to Kylo, needy and desperate, gone to his own feelings. He never demanded like this while sober, and needed to be very drunk indeed to attempt something like this among so many beings in the bar. It always thrilled Kylo that they could indulge publicly, and that Hux would let him after a certain point. But now? In front of this many people?

Hux had no reason or excuse, no way to blame Kylo for this.

He felt the cortosis on Hux’s hand burn bright on his scalp, could feel Hux’s erection throb against his lips, and he let his hands back under the robe, to his thighs. Hux’s want seared him inside, and it was reason enough. Hux likely felt Kylo’s attention just as completely, just as sharply.

He swallowed Hux’s erection without preamble, and let his lips slide down to the root, to meet his well-trimmed pubic hair, his nose right where he wanted it. He let his tongue glide along the underside and loosened his lips as he guided himself off slowly, teasing the tip with tongue and lips before sliding off, tonguing the slit and gripping his cock delicately between his fingers. He glanced back up to Hux’s face through the mess of his curls.

 

 

Hux looked angry, and only tightened his grip in Kylo’s hair, his other hand against his shoulder. “Keep going,” he demanded, and Kylo put just the tip into his mouth, hiding his smile.

He wrapped one arm around Hux’s waist and the other slid down to squeeze the base of his erection, turning his hand so his thumb could caress his balls, his perineum. He applied pressure, and first lapped at, then took Hux’s balls into his mouth, squeezing slightly, sucking until he pulled off. He licked his hand, then brought it to Hux’s erection, stroking it gently, thumb running along the head, down the shaft. He sucked on his balls again, and a third time, stroking Hux’s erection while he did so, teasing the skin with his teeth.

He felt Hux’s hand at the back of his head, guiding him back up to his erection.

“No. Use your mouth.” His voice was getting harsher, angrier-sounding, and Kylo could feel his arousal pounding through him like a physical thing, so unexpected and overwhelming. He’d never felt Hux’s _want_ like this before, and it was satisfying and staggering to know he was so desired, to know that Hux wanted him this badly every time.

Kylo obligingly took Hux’s erection in his mouth, licking it and letting his saliva run down the length and into the fabric of his robe. He savored the salty taste of precome on his tongue, there was never a lot of it when he gave Hux a blowjob. He kissed the tip, then yanked him further forward in the chair. Hux made a noise, and Kylo took one of his booted calves over his shoulder, lifting Hux partially up and exposing the back of his thighs.

In this position, he resumed stroking Hux with his palm while his tongue found Hux’s hole, probing first around, and then in. Hux made a brief noise of protest that he silenced with a hand over his mouth, which turned it into a series of strangled noises so quiet that only Kylo could hear. His stifled pleasure continued as Kylo lapped at the tight heat.

Kylo wondered at the noise, and the opinion of the human occupants of the bar. He knew from experience that the Ho’din thought little of their public couplings, but depending where the humans came from, this wasn’t something that was normally done.

Kylo forced his tongue in deeper, and Hux made a louder noise around his hand. If the humans objected, they could leave. Kylo was beyond caring.

He almost never licked into Hux’s hole, unless Hux was too far gone with arousal and alcohol. He wasn’t today. Hux’s thighs spasmed against Kylo’s neck and shoulders, and he could feel Hux’s grip shift from his shoulder to the edge of the chair, his fingers loosening in his hair.

When Hux was drunk and too demanding, Kylo rather enjoyed reminding Hux that he couldn’t be meekly pushed around. He sent the sensation of his hands up Hux’s body, underneath the robe he was wearing. Along his thighs, up his sides. The sensation of his lips around his nipples, along his neck, licking up his pulse point to behind and against his earlobe. His warm breath against his cheek, then his lips on Hux’s.

“Ky-”

He thrust his tongue inside Hux’s hole as he sent the sensation of his cock down Hux’s throat, choking off his voice. He felt Hux tense and writhe under the onslaught of sensation, could feel his cock tighten in his hands as Hux gagged. Something in his chest tugged at cutting off the sound of Hux groaning his name during sex, as he did it so little. But they couldn’t do it here, they couldn’t use that name. He felt a tightness around the cortosis on his finger, the one wrapped around Hux’s dick, and he wondered how it felt to Hux to have the contact against his skin, in such a sensitive place. To Kylo, Hux’s presence was astonishing, almost too much, and Kylo felt like he could crawl inside him as a person.

But now, the tattoo ring burned, and he felt everything the way Hux did, could feel both of their arousals peaking, and wondered again how much of himself he was giving back. He groaned against Hux’s hole, teased the short hairs there, and took his hand from around Hux’s waist, letting it drop inside his own pants and taking hold of his own neglected cock, so hard and smooth and hot.

The pressure of his hand was a relief, and he pumped almost mindlessly, his hands matching a rhythm to Hux’s cock, and he could feel them both climaxing at once. Hux came inside the robes, and Kylo inside his pants.

He wanted nothing more than to take Hux into his arms, to hold him on the dirt floor of this bar as they both caught their breath, next to the corpse of the being that had tried to come between them, the one that had touched Hux. He wanted to drag Hux into the room he was staying at and continue this. He was willing himself to reach up and pull Hux by the waist into his lap, when he felt Hux’s hand again, stroking his hair more gently.

>”Wait,”< he said. >”One more thing. The weapons.”<

Kylo looked up in disbelief as Hux sat up, unwrapping his legs from Kylo’s shoulders and pushing the robes down around his thighs. Kylo could still feel the blood thrumming through Hux veins, the arousal that wasn’t quite sated, the _need_  to take Kylo apart in revenge for what had just happened, the fact that Kylo had gone so much further than he’d been ordered.

But none of it showed on his face, where the red was receding and he wore his indifferent expression. Kylo put his arms in Hux’s lap and leaned forward, defeated. He buried his face between Hux’s thighs and focused on the hand that was still stroking over the top of his hair.

>”The weapons.”< Kylo murmured into Hux’s robe. He gave Hux regular updates on the numbers of insurgents - Kylo now had a staff member that tracked this for him. There was a lot, and Kylo was confident they could begin weapons distribution and training as soon as Hux wanted. Except for one thing.

>”They don’t want anything to do with the First Order.”< He looked back up at Hux, who frowned.

>”What do you mean?”<

>”They see the fight as personal.”< Kylo shrugged. >”I tried to frame it as the Orri being a mutual enemy. It had worked to bring the Makurth together. But they don’t want an organization that doesn’t have anything to do with Orri or Moltok interfering with the conflict.”<

Hux rolled his eyes. >”Can’t you just mind-trick them into believing that we’re an ally?”<

>”No. It’s too much a part of their culture. They’re doing this for themselves, and for the Ho’din, but don’t see it as anyone else’s fight.”<

>”Except yours?”<

Kylo shrugged. >”I told them that I’d been cheated by the Orri too, so it’s easy for them to see me as an ally. An entire organization is… harder.”<

>”If they won’t take weapons from the First Order, then how are we supposed to arm them? To give them the ships for the invasion?”< Hux gestured angrily with his other hand, fury creeping into his expression and resonating through their new connection, sharp and insistent. >”This whole thing is pointless!”<

Kylo smiled wide and laid his head back in Hux’s lap. >”I told them that you were a weapons smuggler, and could get as many weapons as they need.”<

Hux tensed. >”I’ve only been to the meetings a few times. Why do they think I would help them?”<

>”They know I meet with you. You're a familiar face. I told them you could steal it from the First Order instead, and they liked that better.”<

Hux’s indifferent expression returned, but confusion now replaced his anger. >”Fine. But they won’t believe I’d give them away for free, surely, not even-”< He paused. >”Not because you told me to.”<

Kylo brought his hands up to Hux’s waist, and squeezed, closing his eyes and reveling in the feeling. He was proud of himself for thinking this far ahead, for solving this problem in front of Hux. He felt Hux’s annoyance in response, and smiled, pleased they could say so much without words now. Words were difficult.

>”Fuck’s sake, I can feel your smugness.”< His hand tightened briefly in his hair. >”Out with it. You’ve thought of this. Just tell me, don’t make me guess. It’s tedious, and I don’t have all day.”<

Kylo glanced up through the fringe of his hair. >”You don’t?”<

” _Stop_ ,” he said in warning, and Kylo buried his face back in his lap.

>”I told them that if the mining shifts began stealing cortosis from Orri, that you had a buyer for that, and could trade them the weapons in return. When I explained that it was sacred to the Orri, and would destroy their culture, they were even more eager to do it.”<

Hux was quiet for a moment, but he could feel the waves of amazement and appreciation wash over him. His hand tightened in Kylo’s hair again.

“Amazing. You’re still amazing.”

Kylo looked up, and Hux was evaluating him with his usual indifference, his blank expression. But Kylo could feel a wave of appreciation wash over him like the gentle warmth of a sunbeam. Hux bent down, cupping Kylo’s face in his hands.

“Fine. That’s settled.”

Kylo closed his eyes and smiled, and Hux stroked a thumb across his cheek. Kylo leaned into the touch.

“You mentioned other plans. Do they involve me?”

Hux sighed, and Kylo could clearly feel the exasperation, tinged with a light feeling of…

His eyes sprung open, and Hux’s face colored.

“I’m taking you to bed, you wretched creature. You’ve bound me to your filthy whims.”

Kylo smiled, standing and taking Hux’s hand, striding to the bar to close their tab and to pay for the removal of the corpse.

His filthy whims indeed. Hux had no idea.


	5. Chapter 5

Kylo toyed with his drink and made sure his posture was appropriately insolent as he eyed Hux and the two big attendants as they entered the dim, smoky bar. This place was nicer than the Ho’din bars they usually met in, and it was populated by more beings, of a greater variety owing to the location in a large city. Kylo had spotted groups of Balosaur, Chagrian, Togruta, and a lone Devaronian among the humans, Ho’din, and Moltok common elsewhere. Both Kylo and Hux had thought additional visibility, and a more business-like atmosphere, would make Armitage the Weapons Smuggler more legitimate.

Not to say the bar was nice - it was still a dump. But it was the kind of dump that smugglers did business in, appropriately in one of the large cities with a spaceport. It wasn’t the kind that lovers met in for private trysts.

Kylo smirked as he ran his eyes up and down Hux. The disguise was a good one this time, speaking to a kind of rough, underground power that made him a wealthy man. His hair was still loose and unstyled, and he was wearing loose-fitting desert camouflage pants, with thick-soled black boots laced up to his knees rather than his ubiquitous shiny officer’s boots, which he’d seemed reluctant to yield to any of his disguises. The pants were too big for him, held up by a low-slung black belt with two sleek blasters holstered at either side. He was wearing a tight-fitting black tank, exposing the pale flesh of his arms. His lack of tattoos spoke of his prestige more than anything else - he wasn’t some lackey, didn’t have any gang affiliation and never had. He also kept his look of neatness and military precision. Kylo wondered if he could fake ease even if he tried, but in this case, Hux’s usual mannerisms lent themselves well to his image of a successful, high-powered smuggler. This was not a man who bothered with small business, or small planets.

He also wore silver studs in one ear and in the center of his lower lip. Those were new. Kylo sucked his own lip in, wondering if they were permanent, and wondering about the feel of the metal in Hux’s lip against his own skin.

He quickly took in the two thugs Hux had brought. A man and a woman, both human and larger than Kylo. They looked a little more rough, very much in the image of bodyguards. They wore matching patched fatigues, stained and threadbare across their thighs and knees, along with scuffed, filthy gray boots, and giant blaster rifles slung across their backs. Their shirts were loose-fitting, black, with the collars and sleeves torn off. The woman had her dark hair cropped in a close-shaved military style, and the man was shaved bald. The woman had a scar that ran down her neck and around to the front of her chest, and both sported matching tattoos. Kylo recognized the designs as a large, stylized version of Hux’s signature in the Arkanis alphabet. He wondered if those were permanent, too. Did Hux plan on using these two as permanent personal bodyguards now? Their size certainly made them good candidates, and if Kylo knew Hux, they would also be impeccably trained and easily able to do their job. Kylo had to stifle a surge of jealousy that they bore Hux’s name on their skin, however. He shifted, keeping his relaxed posture as they drew closer.

Both had other visible tattoos snaking around their neck, arms, and face, and Kylo pondered them idly as they crossed the space to the table. He decided that these were likely real tattoos. He wondered how many bore hidden tattoos in the First Order. He had never thought about it before.

Kylo snorted as Hux slid into the chair across from him, spreading his legs further in front of him.

“Nice hardware,” Kylo said in Basic, gesturing to his own lower lip.

Hux scowled and put a hand to his mouth. >“You told me to look the part.”<

>“I didn’t say it was bad, I said it was nice. You finally figured out how to look the part this time.”< Before Hux could reply, Kylo shifted his gaze over Hux’s shoulders. >“Where did you get them? Have you been feeding your soldiers more since I left?”< The bodyguards had taken a position a few feet behind Hux, with their backs to the meeting.

 

 

>“Do they look like my usual soldiers to you?”<

>“I don’t see under the armor very often.”< Kylo’s eyebrows rose, and he could not help but bait Hux. >“Do you?”<

Hux looked annoyed, and Kylo felt the spike of it burn his finger, where they were connected. He twitched and held back a smile, always so pleased to feel connected again after a week apart.

Hux didn’t seem to register the connection. He shifted his eyes around the room, straying to a pair of Ho’din sitting nearby. They had been concerned about the Outer Rim dialect here, where more beings were likely to speak it. But there was nothing they could do, other than attempt to be more vague. >“You know I don’t,”< he hissed in reply to Kylo’s accusation.

>“Armitage,”< he said fondly, “I always forget how… restrained you are without me around.”< His tongue came out to lick his top lip. >”Or how restrained you believe yourself to be, rather.”<

The look Hux gave him would have killed a lesser man, and Kylo felt his cock stirring as the strong emotion ran through him. He knew Hux was feeling his arousal in return, though it was doing nothing to the other man’s mood. He had yet to determine how strongly Hux felt emotions, if they came across clearly or if Kylo felt them more strongly because of the Force. But he knew Hux was aware of what Kylo was attempting.

>“I _am_ restrained,” < Hux snapped, predictably. >”You’re the uninhibited animal between us.”<

Kylo leaned forward, bracing his elbows on the table, posture still casual. He ran his fingers through his own hair, and watched Hux’s eyes follow his hand.

He opened his mouth, then closed it, pausing for a moment in his response. This was… perhaps a good conversation to have in public. It might get Hux to reply more honestly. He switched to Basic, hoping to make the conversation as obviously public as possible, though he pitched his voice low as he slid smoothly into dirty talk.

“I know you’ve been lonely since I started living here. Do you miss getting filled with my big dick?” When Hux’s mouth fell open and he began to glance wildly around, Kylo smirked and continued. “It’s okay, I’ll forgive you if you’re checking under the soldier armor more often than you used to. I know how it is.”

Hux crossed his arms in front of his chest and leaned back in his chair and straightened his posture more. >“You’re disgusting. I have more self-control than you do.”<

Hux’s eyes narrowed, and Kylo felt the wave of jealousy crash over him, so powerful that it made him dizzy. He was unaffected by his own - he knew Hux would never touch anyone else. He was slightly offended that Hux would suspect the same of him. Then again, he _was_  implying it.

The fact that just the thought affected Hux so powerfully made Kylo elaborate further, painting a more vivid picture, excited to see how far he could push Hux. He managed an innocent expression before he continued.

“You’re right, I don’t have much self-control. I _am_  an animal. You know how much attention I need. Do you think it’s easy being down here without you?”

This was perhaps more than he had meant to say, but it was worth it when he felt the cortosis around his ring finger burn as Hux leaned forward again, his eyes cold.

“You wouldn’t dare.”

Kylo leaned on his forearms and casually glanced over to one of the Ho’din, then back to Hux, waving vaguely at the dark, crowded room. “You wouldn’t believe the magic the Ho’din can perform with plants. They have a nice little mixture they cook up before we get started. Enhances sensation like you wouldn’t believe.” He leaned back into the booth, hooding his eyes and running a hand through his hair again. This time, Hux’s eyes watched his hand, and he felt the lust mixed with the sharp pull of jealousy, registering so powerfully the fingers of his left hand ached.

He smiled, leaning back in his seat. “And that serpent hair of theirs? They control all those little mouths. They can give a blowjob while those little serpents eat out my ass like a buffet. Two up, more licking my rim. You wouldn’t believe it.”

He wondered if any of the Ho’din understood Basic - as far as he could determine, they couldn’t vocalize it well enough to speak it, but they may understand it. If so, what would one think of his creative liberties with their anatomy? He’d grown quite bored at the meetings, as most of the talking was now done by the Moltok leaders. The Ho’din had begun to show up, and he’d needed something to occupy his time while the meetings drug on, the spirit of revolution going in one ear and out the other. He imagined the sex lives of the Ho’din. He was happy to put his creativity to such effective use.

Hux stood abruptly, gripping the edge of the table so hard the skin on his knuckles paled. His face remained down, and he refused to look at Kylo. He stood, shaking, attempting to control his rage, though Kylo felt it powerfully all the same, that stirring, heady fury that was so much Hux, and so tangible to him now.

After several moments (and Kylo could almost hear Hux counting to calm himself down - maybe he actually could, it was possible that Hux was angry enough to project his thoughts for Kylo), Hux sat back down, his postures and gestures radiating his earlier businesslike manner, a kind of professional casualness. His face was crimson, and he was avoiding Kylo’s gaze, but to others, he would look deep in thought.

Kylo smiled lazily again, leaning further back in the seat and hooding his eyes. He knew it was a simple thing to bait Hux. Hux was self-conscious about the part he had to play, and he wouldn’t dare lose his composure in front of a crowd this large, let alone whoever the bodyguards were that he brought with him.

Kylo frowned, his gaze sharpening on the broad backs behind Hux. They had heard and understood, of course. He wondered if they knew who he was. Unlikely. This was far outside his normal purview, and his face was not known. Though he’d made it un-ambiguous that he was involved with Hux. Perhaps they would speculate about the General’s secret lover now.

His eyes went back to Hux, who had gathered his usual calm around him, his face his usual indifferent mask. He’d even dispelled most of his anger and jealousy. Kylo wondered how he did it so effectively. Though he knew the jealousy wasn’t so easily forgotten. He prodded again, hoping for a better response.

“You’d feel so much better if you just told me what’s on your mind.”

In response, Hux unholstered one of his blasters and slammed it on the table between them. Kylo was surprised by the outburst, and the noise drew a few curious glances from the other bar patrons, though it wasn’t anything they hadn’t seen before.

“What’s on my _mind_ , _Ben_ ” he hissed, baring his teeth, “Is how I can get away from you and your little games and this colossal waste of time.” He removed his hand from the blaster, and sat back, folding his arms in front of him. He waved his hand in annoyance, and switched the conversation back to the Outer Rim dialect. >“Tell me what we have to do to make this little farce look more authentic.”<

Kylo frowned at the use of his name, but didn’t rise to the bait. It meant nothing here.

>“There’s nothing farcical about this part,”< Kylo said consideringly, sitting forward and picking up the blaster to examine it. “You are, in fact, providing the planet with weapons, and I’m distributing them.”

>“ _Ben_. I’m wasting money on this. My army could use these weapons to do this ourselves. It’s been months. What progress have you made lately?” <

Kylo’s eyebrows rose. >“I’ve dutifully reported all of it, Armitage. The population wishes to arm itself, to train and drill for a war. It won’t take much more to incite them to action, now that they have the means.”< When Hux’s expression turned even more sour, Kylo decided to play with his temper again, smiling insincerely and setting the blaster down on the table, switching to the more public Basic language again. “Don’t be so upset that you’re losing. You’re still getting what you want.”

When Hux frowned, confused, Kylo interjected. “Our little bet, I mean.”

Hux’s expression darkened, and Kylo continued. “Oh, I see. You’re afraid of what I want? What I’ll ask for when I win the bet?”

“Of course not. We both know you to be a reasonable person whose tastes, hobbies, and abilities run to the mundane. It’s a relief.”

Kylo leaned across the table, sliding his hands over to Hux’s side. Hux, ignoring him, re-holstered the blaster. “When I asked you to tell me what was on your mind, I didn’t mean this mission.”

Hux’s eyes met his. “Didn’t you?”

“Mmm.” He could feel the burn and tingle of the cortosis on his finger, and he knew Hux understood his meaning. Hux reached out to grip Kylo’s left hand in his own, managing a bitter expression. “I suppose I did.”

He took Hux’s hand, and drew it to his mouth, feeling the tingling of the ring against his lips. “I wasn’t lying when I told you I get lonely.”

Hux tightened his grip. “Oh? You were lying otherwise?”

Kylo leaned further across the table, bringing his lips closer to Hux’s. “Was I?”

Hux indulged him in a kiss, hot and sweet and still so good after a week’s absence. Kylo bit at his new piercing, which was, surprisingly, real. Hux hissed and bit Kylo’s lip in return before pulling back. “You wouldn’t dare touch anyone else.”

Kylo could feel the link between their hands, Hux’s arousal and lifeforce feeding his own, better than any aphrodisiac the Ho’din could invent. It was addictive, and had been even before he’d joined them in this way. He looked at Hux, with his loose hair and his piercings and his black smuggler’s clothes. So unlike his usual appearance as General, and he still looked uneasy with it. But he was still so attractive, still powerful and confident, still Kylo’s, and Kylo wondered when he’d be able to watch him enter a room and not feel a tightening in his chest and a blindness to everything else. When had that started? He wanted to tell himself it was with the mission. He knew it was before.

He pulled Hux’s chair around the table with his right hand, and leaned in to speak close. >“I’m not sure you understand how negotiations work, _General_.” < He breathed the title into Hux’s ear and felt him shiver, felt the tremor across their connection, felt them both getting so close. Hux just needed a little more incentive to let go.

He pulled Hux into his lap, and Hux allowed it, straddling Kylo’s thighs. Kylo let his rough cheek rub against the smooth, delicate skin of Hux’s throat, felt the pulse flutter beneath his lips, hot and vibrant, and breathed the finishing blow to Hux’s control.

“Sex is the negotiation tool of the people. Sex appeal gets me far in life.”

He felt a sharp pull through his hand, and he gasped softly as Hux rutted down into Kylo’s lap, causing a sharp friction between their now nearly full erections. Kylo reached his right arm around Hux’s waist, and Hux brought his right hand to Kylo’s throat and squeezed, his bare fingers finding the weak points at the side of Kylo’s neck and making his vision go dark. He released the pressure, and Kylo met his eyes. Hux regarded him as his fingers found Kylo’s pulse again, squeezing. Kylo held his impassive gaze as his vision darkened again, and bared more of his throat.

“Liar,” Hux murmured suddenly, and he released Kylo’s neck and kissed him fiercly as Kylo danced on the edge of consciousness, their shared lust surging through them. He leaned back just a fraction, pulling his lips away and speaking just over them. “I would know.”

He sat up straighter in Kylo’s lap and ran his hand through Kylo’s hair, pulling sharply so that Kylo’s throat was presented once again.

Kylo licked his lips. “Would you? All the way from the ship?”

Hux pulled his hair sharply again, scowling. “Is this how you want people to see your arms negotiations end, then? Since _sex_  is such an effective negotiating tool?”

Kylo smirked, and ran a hand under the hem of Hux’s tight shirt, his fingers running up the delicate indentation of his spine. >“Don’t think for a second you weren’t recognized. But they think you’re my lover. And an arms dealer. So talented.”<

“Your lover. Impertinent.” Hux yanked Kylo’s head back and sucked a bruise into his throat, just over the pressure point he had been squeezing. He also rutted into Kylo’s lap again. Their connection was thrumming, overpowering. Kylo wanted to bend him over the table and take him right here, badly enough that he sent the image over to Hux, projecting in a way that he knew Hux did not allow.

“No,” Hux rasped, whispering this against the skin of Kylo’s throat. “Not in this crowded place, and not in front of my guards. Bed. Your rooms. Now.”

Kylo shook himself free of Hux’s grip, and snatched his left hand with his own, making the feelings more vibrant between them and forcing Hux’s back into the sharp edge of the table. “Why? Beds are for _lovers_ , Armitage. Bar tables are for casual fucks. And you don’t seem to mind the show we’re putting on right now.”

Hux looked at him mildly. “I can hardly help it, when you’ve bewitched me.” He tried to slip his left hand away from Kylo’s fingers, and Kylo gripped it tighter, feeling the bones of his knuckles grind together.

“Bewitched you.” Kylo narrowed his eyes. “Fine. It’s my fault.”

He scooped Hux up into his arms, carrying him under his shoulders and knees, and strode toward the door of the bar. To his amusement, the two guards followed them out of the bar.

“Do your friends want to join us?”

“K-Ben! I swear that I will shoot you with both of these blasters if you don’t _put me down_.” He twisted and fought in Kylo’s arms, which would have injured and freed him from anyone else. Kylo held him in place with the Force, which only made him struggle harder until Kylo held him still.

Kylo could feel his fury across their connection, still clear as day even when they weren’t holding hands. He smirked, keeping his eyes ahead of him. Eventually, Hux stopped struggling, relaxing into his arms, but still furious.

“You can try to shoot me, Armitage. You know I’m not easy to kill. Or shoot.”

Hux tried to kick him in the head, and Kylo tightened his grip, using the Force to bind his feet together. Hux made a frustrated noise.

“Why don’t you announce that louder, I’m sure some of the city’s population didn’t hear you. And I’ll find a way yet.”

Ben squinted as the sunlight hit them both. He wanted his glasses, but they were in his pocket, and he would need to put Hux down to get them out. It was a short walk anyway. “I’ll make sure to earn it, then.” He glanced behind his shoulder at the guards.

“Are they going to stand outside the rooms and listen?”

Hux rolled his eyes. “What do you think they should do, stay in the bar? They’ll follow us until they’re dismissed.”

Kylo leaned closer to Hux’s ear, smirking as he brushed his lips through his loose hair. “Then dismiss them. Or they’ll hear exactly how loud the General is with his mystery planetside rebel lover.”

Embarrassment flooded Hux’s face and through their cortosis connection, and Kylo was pleased, his heart light, his balls aching.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Somewhat rough sex here, slapping and whatnot, just in case that isn't your thing. 
> 
> If it is your thing, I didn't do it that well. Sorry.

Kylo was immediately awake and out of bed when the door crashed into the wall of his tiny, bare room three days later. His training took over without thought, his hand reaching for the lightsaber that wasn’t there and hadn’t been for over half a year. His mind hadn’t caught up to his actions, wasn’t fully awake, as he felt himself fall into the Force and cross the room with all his speed, but there was a twinge of curiosity as he felt the hot rage pulsing over him that was not his own. He wasn’t pressing hard enough into his attacker’s mind to sense that level of emotion, so his opponent was absolutely furious. As his eyes adjusted to the light in the room, he lunged at the attacker, and that’s when he realized his left hand throbbed with it.

He had the wind knocked out of Hux and his forearm pressing almost fatally into his throat, Hux pulling ineffectually at his arm, before his thoughts caught up to his actions. Hux’s face was red, and his blue eyes burned with near-hatred.

“Oh.”

He let Hux go, and watched him slump to the floor, gasping for breath. He stared stupidly down as Hux coughed, the light glinting from his new lip piercing. He was wearing the same tight black sleeveless shirt and loose-fitting pants he had been two days before, but his blasters were gone.

Kylo tried to make a Shi'ido out of him. Hux would never break the schedule, and Hux would never be planetside by himself, unarmed. There would be no emergency worth extracting Kylo from the mission at this late stage, and Hux was unlikely to make that errand personally.

There was no reason for Hux to be here. There was no reason for Hux to even know where he was. He had taken to shifting his quarters every week, and had done so immediately after Hux left. He shouldn’t have been able to find Kylo. Still, their new cortosis rings resonated, and Kylo could feel Hux’s anger and confusion. It was no Shi'ido. He was here, and Kylo was now jittery and awake, and Hux was nearly dead on his floor.

“What are you doing here?” He asked, hating that it sounded like a stupid question. It wasn’t, but the moment was growing increasingly awkward as they stared at each other in silence.

Hux glared accusingly from the floor, answering in a hoarse, raspy voice, still gasping for breath, one hand against his throat as he struggled to sit up and catch his breath.

“I thought the point of the rings was so that we could identify each other. How did you fail so spectacularly, even with all your special powers?”

“I was asleep. And it never occurred to me that it could be you. You would never break a schedule.”

“The ring worked for me,” Hux continued, as if Kylo hadn’t spoken. He propped his back against the wall, and the color began returning to his face, barely visible in the dark. His breathing had slowed. “It led me straight here from the spaceport.”

“ _Why_? Everything is still fine. Proceeding normally.”

“Exactly.” Hux had picked himself up off the floor, and was now just as composed as if he had casually stopped by in the middle of the day, brushing the negligible dust off his dark smuggler’s outfit. He glanced up at Kylo. “And that’s why I need to be here, to ensure the weapons are distributed easily and armed to the correct individuals. You’ve been introducing the plants?”

Kylo nodded, unsure. Hux had insisted on seeding specialists into the rebel groups to train and drill with the Makurth as the weapons were distributed. Kylo had spent the last two days ensuring that their presence raised no questions, and that they blended seamlessly with the recent influx of human recruits that were joining the cause.

“It’s working so far. After they’re introduced and their initial demonstrations, nobody seems to question how they wound up on the planet.”

“Good. We don’t train them to act.”

“I’d never mistake them for anything but soldiers. You should have seen YM-9023. I almost blew her cover when she tried to tell a story about being a bounty hunter. There was no way. But they don’t seem to worry about it, after I tell them not to.” Kylo held his palm up in demonstration. Hux shook his head.

“Fine.” Hux pushed past him to sit on the edge of the bed, withdrawing a datapad from his tunic. “We have trackers on the plants, so we will eventually know the location of all the cells planetwide and can provide support, if necessary. They report in when they need more support and weapons.” He turned on the datapad, and the harsh light illuminated his face white, the only source of light in the room.

Kylo crossed his arms, annoyed. He suddenly realized why Hux had tried to creep into his room in the middle of the night. It was his usual tactic. Kylo had thought they were beyond it, and he hated that he couldn’t protest it without sounding petty. “So that’s what you’re doing here. Taking over.”

Hux glanced up at him momentarily, his eyes dark and hollowed from the light in his lap. “This is what I do. I coordinate multi-front wars. It will go much faster if I’m available to allot resources and have people in place to report progress. And comms are easier to encrypt planetside, as you know.”

It was true, and it made a certain kind of sense. But Kylo still felt possessive of his life here, the campaign, and he knew for certain he could see it through. “This was my plan. My idea. Do you have so little faith in my abilities to lead?”

Hux looked at him more steadily, laying the datapad back down in his lap and turning the screen off. It took a moment for Hux’s face to swim back into focus as Kylo’s eyes adjusted to the sudden darkness once again. “You executed your plan. You’ve played your part, and can continue to do so. But you have to see that this is a larger campaign now. This is how it always works, you know that. You’ve sat through enough strategy meetings. Your part to play is usually at the end, but everyone has their roles. It’s how an effective military works.”

Kylo was growing more angry, remembering how hard it was to win an argument with Hux. He was right, of course, and what he said made sense, but it still stung. “So you’re going to take over and win the war.”

Hux closed his eyes, then opened them. His expression didn’t change. “Yes, of course I am. But I couldn’t have done what you did. Nobody else could have.” He held out the datapad. “Do you think you could do _this_  yourself? All of the anayltics and allotments and the timing?”

Kylo eyed the datapad, still unhappy with the situation. “I can win the war.”

“And you’re staying down here. Do you think we’re not sending you over as soon as we’ve established landing sites on the planets? You’ll be just after the vanguard.”

Kylo turned, his gaze going out the window. He knew that Hux was right, but he didn’t want to concede the point, and he still felt hurt by the turn of events.

“It was my idea.”

Hux made an exasperated noise. “Nothing is going to change that. I’m not attempting to steal your credit. We don’t even-” He paused, and gestured angrily. “When was the last time you saw someone congratulated for something like this? We don’t do that in the First Order. Besides, we’re Co-Commanders. I’m going to do it from here. You can make whatever contribution you want. Normally you show no interest in these strategical lead-ups. I always ask for your input, and you never give it.”

Kylo hadn’t listened to the end of the rant, focusing on one thing and letting it echo through his thoughts as he turned around.

“You’re coordinating the war from… here? From this room?”

Hux gestured, annoyed. “From wherever you are, yes. Didn’t you hear me state that communications were easier planetside? Besides, you’re still the main agitator, even with all the other training and speakers milling around.”

Hux frowned deepened as he saw the look spread on Kylo’s face.

“We both know that your strengths lie in the immediate, and not the big picture. You can agitate individual cells, but you seem to have no concept of what’s occurring planet-wide, and that’s going to be increasingly important from now on. Besides, your time management is not very efficient. We could have done this months sooner, if I had provided support earlier.”

“You didn’t even think this was worth doing. It was a _bet_ , Hux.”

Hux put up his hands defensively. “I wasn’t talking about that, but yes. Of course. It seems to be working, but hasn’t succeeded yet. Don’t get ahead of yourself. I also have the backup plan mobilized and fully ready to go if this fails.”

Kylo cocked his head. “If it’s ready, why won’t you do it now?”

Hux shook his head. “This is cheaper, and spares us bodies. We’re… perhaps a month out from full planet-wide rebellion? That was my estimate, with the support we’re providing now.”

Kylo said nothing, unwilling to admit that he had no idea how to estimate when the insurgents would be ready. He changed the subject instead.

“Will a month be soon enough? The unrest and organization is barely underground now, and the Orri certainly know at least some of what’s going on.”

Hux looked out the dark window. “We have limited spying resources on Orri. They do seem to be aware of the situation, but won’t be prepared for a full assault on their own planet. They don’t seem to believe that the Makurth would be capable of it, or that the Ho’din would bless such aggression.”

“Do your limited spying resources suggest that the Makurth have a chance?”

Hux shrugged, looking back at him. “Perhaps. We have strategic points selected, and are betting on the Makurth that are enslaved on Orri to join the forces as they appear. If they look to be failing, we can reinforce with our own troops.”

“And you can still receive those updates from here, the surface of Moltok? You can still confer with your war council, still oversee everyone who is allotting those resources and running those numbers for you?”

Hux looked back out the window again. “For the most part. Some communications are blocked, but much of that can occur without my direct oversight on the _Finalizer_. I’ll just return to the ship once or twice a week, as required.”

Kylo crossed the room in two steps and placed a knee on the bed, next to Hux. “You seem to have misunderstood my question, Hux. You can do this from the _Finalizer_. Send messages from your datapad. Why do you have to be here?”

 _In the middle of the night, unarmed, as if you dashed away on a whim?_  All good questions, but Kylo wouldn’t get the answer he wanted, so he didn’t try.

Hux leaned away from the intensity of Kylo’s stare, and his face began to color. “I told you, it gives me a better idea of where the Moltok forces are and how useful they are if I go to the meetings with you and view the progress of the specialists myself, and move them around as necessary.”

Kylo leaned closer. The room was still dark, lit only by the weak light of the moon that filtered through the single window. He could see Hux’s eyelashes as he blinked, not looking at Kylo. The datapad slid off his lap and onto the mattress. Neither took notice of it. “Are you sure all of that requires your personal touch? And that you can only do it all with me, from my room?”

Hux’s face turned redder, and he remained silent. Kylo decided to give him the push they both wanted, the easy prod to Hux’s jealousy. He craved the sensation of it, the fury and want and confusion, pulsing through their connection.

“Was it the Ho’din, _Armitage_? The thought of one of them touching me, of me seeking one out when you weren’t here? I painted a pretty vivid picture for you in that bar, didn’t I?” He shook his head slowly and made a low sound, feeling the roil of Hux’s emotions already. “Couldn’t get that out of your head, could you?”

Hux narrowed his eyes, and kept himself visibly under control. “That was a lie. I know you don’t touch any being.”

With his lips just above Hux’s, he asked, in a mocking voice that he knew would set Hux off, “You _know_ , do you?”

And that was all it took. Hux pushed him backwards so hard that Kylo’s head nearly collided with the frame of the bed. Hux was on top of him, leaning down into his face, furious before Kylo could blink. His breath was hot against Kylo’s face as Kylo felt him trying to reign in his emotions, decide what to say.

“You did _not_.”

Kylo was careful to keep his expression mild. “They run a bit hotter than a human.”

Hux gave him a crushing kiss, Kylo could feel his tongue plunging into his mouth, and he made a noise of surprise as he felt a piercing clicking against his teeth as it slipped in. He tried to pull back to comment, but Hux’s teeth pressed into Kylo’s lips. Kylo ran his left hand up Hux’s back, feeling the pulse of arousal throbbing through their cortosis connection, slamming into him like a truck, amplified as he slipped a hand under Hux’s shirt and touched him skin to skin. Hux put a hand in his hair, still braided since Kylo did not plan on seeing Hux, and pulled, baring Kylo’s neck. He pulled back and looked down into Kylo’s face, breathing heavily, so red. Kylo grinned up at him.

“You pierced your tongue.”

Hux scowled, and Kylo felt the embarrassment ring against his hand. “It’s part of the disguise.”

A lie, and they both knew it. “Useful. I like it.” He raised his right hand up to touch his lip piercing. “Do you keep this on the ship?”

Hux shook his hand off. “No.”

Kylo sat up, sucking his lip into his mouth a moment, tonguing at the metal of the piercing before slipping his tongue against Hux’s to explore.

“Then it’s just for here, isn’t it?”

 _For_ _me_ , he thought but didn’t ask.

Hux’s face softened, and he moved his hand from Kylo’s hair to move a thumb against the arch of Kylo’s throat. Kylo swallowed against the touch.

“Just for here,” he agreed in a light tone, and for Hux it was as good as a confession. Kylo took his mouth again, and Hux answered back, his tongue and lips enough of a distraction that Kylo let himself ask for more.

“Just for here,” he repeated, pulling away and laying back down. “Use them on my neck. My ears. My-”

Before the request was out, Hux’s tongue was teasing Kylo’s nipple, his hand working the flesh around it. Kylo’s diet was different on Moltok from the _Finalizer_ , and he’d put on weight, flesh and muscle alike. Hux was increasingly fascinated by this, digging his fingers into the softness of Kylo’s chest and hip, and Kylo gave him a noise of encouragement, turning his head to the side and arching his chest into Hux’s mouth. Hux trailed his lips down the center of Kylo’s chest and up to his collarbone, his mouth drifting over and his teeth sinking into the thick muscle of his bicep, thumb still playing with his nipple.

Kylo kept his left hand against Hux’s lower back, pulling him in closer. He was aroused, overwhelmed, and he could still feel Hux’s annoyance and anger spurring him on. Kylo wanted more, and using the Ho’din to make Hux jealous at the bar had given him an idea.

“They have a paste they use, before sex. The Ho’din.” He was rapidly losing his train of thought, and continued quickly, not wanting to get distracted by the surge of anger from Hux, the hand that went to his throat, the pressure at his pulse points. “An aphrodisiac, and a sensory enhancer.” He put out his hand, using the Force to pull a jar off a shelf without looking. Hux’s eyes went to it for a second, looking marginally surprised before his face folded in fury again. Before Hux could speak, Kylo continued, looking him in the eye and grinning.

“They dip the ends of that snake-hair into it, and I suck it off as they pull those in and out, working them down my throat and around my mouth. It’s green. The last Ho’din I saw had red skin that it contrasted against. Pretty.”

The hand had come off his throat, and Hux had sat up and forward, straddling his stomach and hurriedly pulling at the belt and buttons of his pants. When Kylo tried to pull Hux’s shirt over his head, Hux slapped his hands away, then yanked his waistband and underwear down, freeing his erection. He considered the jar for a moment, then stood to remove his pants, unscrewing the lid with his thumb as he pulled his clothes and boots off with the other. He was back straddling Kylo in a second, his ass resting on Kylo’s chest, his erection hovering near Kylo’s chin.

“Liar,” Hux insisted, smearing some of the green paste onto his dick.

Kylo had been curious about the local Ho’din ‘miracle potion’ after an over-enthusiastic recruit had explained it to him some months ago. He had not lied about its properties - it was allegedly a relaxant, gave you a rush, and stimulated the sensations of touch, amplifying it. Because the Ho’din really were masterful, it was also a lubricant, and was edible. The recruit had claimed that no native of Moltok had sex without it. Kylo bought some, but realized that Hux probably wouldn’t be interested in experimenting with it, and hadn’t worked up the nerve to ask. It hadn’t occurred to him to goad Hux with jealousy. Apparently it had been this easy.

Hux braced himself against the wall, then levered himself up to push the head of his dick against Kylo’s lips. Kylo focused on it, wetting his own lips and flicking his tongue at the tip. The paste tasted faintly of elli berries, as advertised. He craned his neck and pushed himself off the bed to get his lips lower, to get more of Hux in his mouth, but Hux spread his knees, pinning Kylo’s elbows to the bed. Kylo could have lifted Hux up easily, but it wasn’t the game they played, as much as Kylo wanted to now.

Kylo looked up at him, annoyed, and Hux glared back down, once again gently laying his erection on Kylo’s lips. Kylo sucked at it softly, using his tongue to lick off the paste. He could feel the tingling in his mouth first, his gums and tongue and the inside of his cheeks, and felt it slowly spread down his throat. A languid feeling began washing through him, and he felt his skin heating. He let out a grunt and strained forward, trying again to swallow more of Hux’s erection. Hux continued to tease him, letting Kylo suck all of the paste off his dick, but not much more. He used one of his hands to add more paste, then had Kylo lick it off again.

After a few minutes, Hux canted his hips back, bending over Kylo with his usual indifferent expression, though his face was now very red, and stared into Kylo’s face. Kylo, frustrated, tried to push him back up, and Hux shifted his grip - one hand across Kylo’s eyes, pushing Kylo’s head down into the pillow, another at the base of his own dick.

Holding Kylo’s head back with his eyes covered, Hux began to fuck his mouth in earnest, roughly shoving in and out and down Kylo’s throat. Kylo, fully pinned, could do nothing, but it was exactly what he wanted. Hux thrust, and Kylo let him go deep down his throat, feeling the Ho’din paste burn through his mouth and relax him elsewhere, leaving him with a curiously vacant feeling in his thoughts, augmented by the lust and anger he could feel from Hux pressing down on him. He gripped Hux’s thigh, and felt how hot his skin was, felt the arousal and orgasm that were tense and waiting in Hux, though it was muted after the effects of the Ho’din paste.

“Like this? Did they do this to you?” Hux hissed, and Kylo could hear him bending closer. He seated himself all the way into Kylo’s throat, forcing his head further into the pillow and moving his hand from his dick to press a thumb into a pulse point in Kylo’s throat, making his vision swim. “You’re lying. You wouldn’t do this to a xeno. You wouldn’t let it anywhere near you.”

He leaned back on Kylo’s chest, removing his hand from Kylo’s eyes and bracing both of them on Kylo’s shoulders. Kylo gasped for breath, opening his eyes and looking at Hux, in his full fury, his eyes shining in the low light coming through the window, now beginning to gray with the first light of dawn.

“You think so?” He rasped, swallowing to clear his throat, knowing that they both needed to be contrary. “You should have seen them work on my ass. How do you think the snake hair felt inside? How many of those little mouths do you think they managed to fit into my human hole? Can you even imagine? Can you picture it, Hux?”

He showed Hux a toothy, insincere grin, knowing what would come next. Hux, expression still neutral, slapped him across the face, then held his palm against Kylo’s burning cheek while fumbling for the jar of paste with the other. He pinched Kylo’s chin roughly as he smeared the paste against Kylo’s lips, then bent down low, licking it off, teasing Kylo’s mouth with the new metal stud in his tongue. Kylo felt the tingling from the paste against his lips, and writhed against the sensation of the piercing. He tried to push his own tongue up into Hux’s mouth, but Hux squeezed his chin harder and bit down on his lower lip, drawing blood. He tongued that off as well, and Kylo moaned.

It wasn’t usually like this, it wasn’t always so rough, but now, suddenly, Kylo needed it ardently. He remembered that Hux would stay here, with him, would only be going back to the _Finalizer_  for meetings, that they would live together on the planet and share a room and they could have this every night. He moaned again, overwhelmed, letting himself arch up into Hux above him, wrapping his arms around Hux’s narrow back and pulling him close.

When Hux stopped, he held himself just over Kylo’s lips for a moment before speaking, the ghost of his warm breath registering even on Kylo’s cheeks, thanks to the paste. “You are an uninhibited animal, unable to control yourself. Nobody knows that better than I do.” He squeezed Kylo’s chin again, and shook his head savagely, Kylo closing his eyes against the treatment. “ _Stop this_. I don’t like it.”

Kylo licked his lips, and never dropped Hux’s gaze. “Don’t like what?”

“The _lying_.” Hux hissed, and drew further back, his rage pounding against Kylo’s overwhelming need to have him closer, be connected, to be more together immediately. He grunted, frustrated this time, trying to pull Hux closer, and Hux shook off his arms.

Kylo paused, daring to go further this time, frustrated and needy, and Hux had come here in the middle of the night and said he’d stay, not the other way around. He dropped his own voice, and pushed Hux’s weight off his chest easily, knocking Hux onto his back and eliciting a rare look of shock as Kylo propped himself up on his elbows and narrowed his eyes.

“And _why_  don’t you like it, Hux? Do you really hate it so much, picturing me with another lover? Do you ask yourself why?”

Hux looked confused for a moment, but he quickly gathered himself, rolling out from between Kylo’s legs and digging his fingers into Kylo’s hip, flipping him roughly on his stomach. Promptly, he slapped Kylo’s ass, and Kylo gasped, pushing his face into the pillow and pushing himself up on his knees.

“Why must you be so difficult?” Hux asked, and Kylo felt more of the lubricant paste at his asshole, Hux swirling his thumb around, pushing it in much more gently than Kylo expected.

“Hu-”

And at that, Hux slapped him again with the other hand, and did push his thumb in roughly. It was a shock, they weren’t normally this rough with each other, but Kylo could feel this was different, that Hux had come here tonight, and it had come to this. Kylo waited, waited for Hux to continue, to say something, to explain himself, or what was happening. He could feel Hux’s frustration, knew he was looking for words.

“No.”

But Kylo got none of them, so he pushed harder, wondering what the breaking point was. Hux wouldn’t stop, wouldn’t leave. He could tear Kylo apart, but he’d rather force the words from his mouth.

“Armitage.”

Hux hooked his thumb in Kylo’s rim briefly before removing his hand for a few seconds, bringing it back with more of the lubricant paste, tracing his hole with two fingers.

“Ben,” he said, with as little inflection as possible, before forcing two fingers into Kylo. Kylo jerked forward, then pushed himself back, and Hux steadied him with a hand on his hip. When Hux didn’t speak again, instead taking a neutral pace, stretching him while avoiding his prostate, Kylo decided to answer him.

“What’s difficult?”

“You.”

And at that, he did find Kylo’s prostate, and Kylo gasped and writhed, trying to pull away, but Hux held him in place, sliding a third finger in place easily and stretching some more, pushing his hand in and out. Kylo’s dick was hanging, neglected, painful and leaking, and he tried to reach down to touch it. Hux pulled his hand off Kylo’s hip and grabbed his wrist, squeezing painfully and pulling back on Kylo’s arm. Kylo gasped, but continued.

“What’s difficult about me? Do you not like me asking questions about why you’re here?”

Hux pulled his finger out of Kylo’s hole, then grabbed his other arm from where Kylo had it beside his head. He pulled back painfully on his shoulders, getting a grip on both of his wrists with his left hand and pulling them together at the base of his spine. Kylo felt the cortosis burning where it touched his skin, and Hux’s rage and lust and possessiveness was almost too much, he throbbed with it, burned with it.

Wordlessly, he forced Kylo’s knees further apart as he held him up by his arms, and Kylo felt him positioning himself against his ass, rutting against the crack, brushing the hole without entering. Kylo hissed and tried to squirm, tried to push himself back, but Hux jerked again, pulling him further up, pushing his face into Kylo’s neck, then rubbing the stud in his tongue around the shell of his ear, his lip piercing against the lobe. Kylo whimpered, the sensation amplified,

“I’m not _jealous_. Do you think I want to picture you copulating with an alien before I do it myself?”

Kylo pulled, rutting against Hux’s ass, trying to pull one hand away to touch himself, because it hurt, it hurt, and he needed it, but didn’t want to beg before Hux gave him something.

“Then it’s fine if I tell you about Hew? Jora? Kiri? Nat? Those were all human partners. Nat knew how to touch my dick just right. Just a few pulls, twisting, a finger in my ass-”

And that did it. Hux shifted his grip to put both of Kylo’s wrists in the iron grip of his right hand, pulling Kylo back, then lined himself up with the left and plunged into Kylo’s ass. Kylo moaned, but was more surprised when Hux took his dick in a harsh grip with his left hand. The cortosis pulsed, burned, felt so, so good. He felt it from root to tip, and he shuddered, nearly coming from that single touch. He gasped.

“I don’t want to hear about any of it. None of it.”

And he fucked in and out once, pulling on Kylo’s arms hard enough to send burning pain through his shoulders. Kylo blinked, throwing his head back and staring at the wall. He was sweating, his hair damp, and both of them were on their knees and getting exactly what they wanted.

“Why?”

Hux pushed himself roughly in again as he slid his hand up and down Kylo’s shaft, shifting his grip to the base and pinching hard to prevent him from coming. It hurt, and Kylo needed to beg, but he needed this more. Hux bit down on his shoulder, sinking his teeth into the flesh there.

“Don’t do this.”

He gasped, barely himself. “ _Say it_ , I know you want to. You’re thinking about the Ho’din, about how I learned about this aphrodisiac, about what I did by myself down here without my mask and armor, about what I did before I met you-”

“Don’t.”

“ _Say it._ ”

Hux fucked him roughly, and Kylo felt the paste leaking out from around his rim. He felt Hux pulse inside him, and he clenched down hard, feeling Hux’s anger wash through him.

“ _You’re mine_ ,” he hissed. “You’re mine, I’m here, and only I touch you.”

Kylo closed his eyes, and let the satisfaction wash over him, let himself go, let himself say what Hux wanted to hear, what they both needed right now. “Then _touch me_ , let me come, I need it, I need it-”

And mercifully, Hux increased his pace, slamming into him from behind while gripping Kylo, stroking him once, twice, and Kylo came hard, all over his fist. He felt the burn of his orgasm through every inch of his skin, and he knew, because they were connected, it hit Hux just as hard, and he felt Hux come inside him, his orgasm wash over Kylo. It was intense. It was better than any time before, even with the cortosis bond on their hands.

Kylo felt his thighs trembling as he tried to keep himself upright. Hux’s grip loosened on his wrists, and he fell forward, shoulders aching. Hux only partially pulled out of him, but he could feel the come and paste leaking from his hole, the paste making a tingling sensation down his thighs and on his over-sensitive skin.

He could feel Hux trembling behind him, and then he felt Hux’s hands at his waist as he pulled himself the rest of the way out, another pulse of fluid flowing out Kylo’s hole. He flexed around the sudden absence.

He yelped when Hux slapped his ass lightly, not expecting anything rough afterwards. But then, he felt Hux’s arms around his waist as he pulled Kylo down onto his side in the bed. He positioned himself behind, stroking one thumb over Kylo’s nipple, then pressing into the soft flesh of his chest. Kylo shifted underneath his hand and frowned, pressing his ass back against Hux.

“Why are you still hard?”

“I don’t know. Probably that damn lube you used. You were telling the truth about that?”

Kylo smiled. “Mostly. It is a Ho’din specialty. No one has sex without it here.”

Hux’s hand moved down briefly and squeezed, surprising Kylo. He was still hard too.

“You had more of it than I did.”

It was Hux’s left hand, and Kylo reached down to grab it, their connection pulsing briefly between their cortosis rings before he set Hux’s hand back on his left nipple.

“I did. I liked it.”

Hux idly traced Kylo’s nipple again with his thumb for a few more silent minutes, before pinching it. Not too hard, but as an admonishment. He purposely brushed the cortosis across it, and Kylo shivered.

“Was that necessary?”

Baffled, Kylo rolled over onto his back, looking into Hux’s face, where his emotions were once again hidden behind his usual expression of indifference. “What?”

“Baiting me like that.”

Kylo frowned. “What? Into admitting you like to have sex with me and enjoy an exclusive relationship?”

Hux looked marginally more annoyed. “Can’t you just read my mind?”

Kylo sighed, and rolled back over on his side, back to Hux. “I don’t know why you think I can read your mind. I can’t. I can tell what you’re feeling.” He waved his left hand. “I assume you can, too, now. Can’t you?”

Hux wrapped his hand back around Kylo’s chest and squeezed his nipple again. “Precisely. You can tell what I’m feeling. You don’t need more than that, you absolute child. Stop taunting me with it.”

Kylo laid still again as Hux pressed his palm into the meat of his chest, massaging around his nipple. Kylo closed his eyes, content for the time being.


	7. Chapter 7

It was hot again, here in this city near Moltok’s equator, but Kylo was too busy to care just now. His hands were braced against the wall, his legs were wrapped around Hux’s waist, and Hux had just buried himself inside Kylo. He leaned into Kylo’s chest and held himself above, a drop of sweat rolling down his cheek and chin and dripping onto Kylo’s face, his hair a matted, unwashed mess for the first time in Kylo’s memory. Kylo tipped his head back, licking the salt sweetness of Hux’s sweat from his lips and closed his eyes, feeling his own sweat roll down his temples and neck.

Fatigue wracked his body as Hux trembled between his legs, similarly exhausted. Kylo felt Hux trying to steady himself, his palms hot and slick over Kylo’s nipples, his breath quick and shallow. They hadn’t used the Ho’din cream for lubricant this time, both had been concerned they’d pass out with overstimulation, and this was an attempt to stay awake just a little longer.

Kylo rocked his hips, and Hux moved his hands from Kylo’s chest to his waist, leaning down into his chest and beginning to thrust slowly. Neither one of them made a noise, and the sound of slick flesh hitting flesh echoed loudly in the room.

It had been three days since either he or Hux had slept, and they had just left the final meeting of head command on Moltok, sending the encrypted confirmation signals back to the _Finalizer_  afterward. Hux’s ‘mercenaries’ were heading most of the operations, and had been training and drilling the rebel insurgents for the last two months as weapons and vehicles were shuttled onto the planet beneath the notice of the Orri.

Hux’s pace increased, and Kylo tightened his hold, hoisting his hips further up and crushing Hux’s waist between his thighs, earning him a begrudging grunt from Hux. Hux shifted slightly, sitting back on his knees and pulling Kylo’s ass into his lap. Kylo thought about sitting up, but decided to let Hux do all the work. He was hard, but not aching with it, and left his hands against the wall, his own erection untended. He closed his eyes and focused on Hux’s slow pace.

They were both nearly delirious with fatigue, but it was now so close to the end. Too close to sleep. It would happen within the hour, and then it would be a matter of monitoring it from here and letting the battle take its course. Hux would monitor it, of course, every comm, ping, map, and breath that was exhaled here and on Orri and on the _Finalizer_ , though he would likely fall asleep before the end. But neither Kylo nor Hux thought they would be needed for the initial waves. The Makurth had, in fact, outsmarted both of them - they had decided that neither were warriors, and had rather strictly grounded them on the planet. It had privately amused them both. Kylo had considered returning to the _Finalizer_ , putting on his armor and taking up his lightsaber once again to assist with the battle on the ground. He wasn’t well-known enough to be easily identified as First Order, not in this sector anyway, and his prowess would give the Makurth fodder for stories for years. But he was exhausted. Not even the pleasure of battle, the smell of the blood searing against his lightsaber, the dust sticking to the visor of his mask, the peal of fear he could feel from his enemies as he turned to hold their blaster shot in the air, letting them live long enough to realize what he was and how exactly they would die - none of it motivated him enough to go. The battle would likely be decided in a matter of days, and the First Order would step in afterward to to negotiate cortosis rights with the planet’s brand-new government.

To stay awake until the zero hour, they entertained themselves with each other. They had not returned to their shared room in the last three days, and Kylo ached for Hux and their bed. Hux had throbbed with the same fatigue and need after the door had closed. They had slumped into each other, kissing sloppily in the doorway, neither able to muster the energy at first to drag themselves across the room.

Hux was clearly flagging now, his pace slowing as Kylo felt him struggling with something mentally.

“More. Harder. Please. Just a bit longer now.”

Hux paused and sighed, rubbing his thumbs along Kylo’s hips. “Switch places with me and ride me.”

“No.”

Hux made a disapproving noise, sliding his legs out from under Kylo and pulling out. Kylo cracked and eye and made his own disapproving sound as Hux slid out of him, reaching one of his hands down and pumping himself to try and keep himself interested.

Hux began crawling over him on all fours, but stopped just shy of lining himself back up. He stared up at Kylo, and Kylo opened both eyes to look at him. Hux had dark circles under his eyes, and his damp, loose hair framed his face. He looked slightly lost. Kylo wondered if he wore the same expression.

“I’m not sure I can do this right now.”

“Too bad. I want it.”

Kylo slid the rest of the way under him, wrapping his legs back around Hux and kissing him again, nibbling at the tongue piercing, which had not lost its novelty in the last six weeks. Kylo wondered if he’d remove it when they got back to the _Finalizer_. He hoped not. He thought about asking Hux for a blowjob, but they were both too tired for that. Kylo was worried about maintaining an erection. They would have to finish this soon.

He positioned his legs higher on Hux’s waist, then moved Hux (who was, thankfully, harder than Kylo at the moment) lower, positioning him carefully at his entrance. He gripped Hux’s ass with both hands, just below where his thighs and calves were wrapped around him, and pushed him until he was inside Kylo again, Kylo’s leg tight across his back. He could feel exhaustion radiating from Hux, a disorganized mess of emotions between them.

Kylo gripped Hux around the hips and began moving him in and out, which was enough to make Hux angry - Hux didn’t like being used in this way, and began fucking Kylo more vigorously to spite him. Kylo smiled into his neck, rubbing his lips along his collarbone and up his neck back to his chin as Hux thrust roughly into him.

It was rough and perfunctory. There was almost no pleasure between them, only exhaustion, and they both had to work at it. Eventually, Hux wrapped his hand around Kylo’s cock and began jerking. Thankfully, Kylo had become more aroused, and they both managed a weak orgasm together.

Lying with Hux gasping on top of him, drenched with sweat and hot and breathless, Kylo cracked his eyes open. The soft light of the afternoon sun was streaming through the open blinds and lying in slats across the bed. Kylo’s eyes burned with fatigue, but he found he couldn’t bear to close them. He wrapped an arm around Hux’s back and breathed into his hair, which smelled like the loona fruit shampoo that the Ho’din made on this planet.

He had craved this between them one last time, even when neither of them particularly wanted it, because he knew this would end soon. They would go back to the _Finalizer_ , and they would be closer than before, but not this close. Here, they lived together, they kept their rooms together, they coordinated every part of this mission together. Hux was a different person, and so was Kylo, and they were casual about their relationship. They talked and drank and laughed with the Makurth and human forces that they’d gathered and trained. Kylo wondered, briefly, if this would be what life would be like outside the Order. He closed his eyes and breathed in the scent of Hux one more time, a pain tugging in his chest, as he finally began to let sleep take him.

He had no idea how long he had been sleeping, but he was awakened by noise from outside, shouting and yelling and loud bangs. His eyes sprang open, and he rolled Hux off of him. Hux had fallen asleep, was sleeping through the disturbance, so he shook him gently.

“Hux. It’s starting. Come on.”

Hux blinked at him blearily, his eyes red and his hair hanging limply across his forehead. Kylo stood and pulled at his arm, dragging him across the small quarters to the door, which Kylo opened to the street.

Hux jumped and stepped behind him. Kylo turned tiredly toward him, tugging him back into the doorway by an arm. “Nobody cares about your dick. The Ho’din don’t even wear pants.” He turned and gestured out to the street. “Come on, look!”

The streets had darkened. The attack had commenced during a total solar eclipse, visible at the capital city of Yennor - the Ho’din had finally assented to the revolution, with the caveat that it must take place during the auspicious eclipse, when Orri blocked out the sun on Makurth before it dropped below the horizon in the capital. The orbits were so slow that the planet would remain dark for the last several hours before night fell.

It was a major holiday planet-wide, and all the Makurth were allowed the day off to celebrate. The soldiers would begin arriving on Orri within an hour, the substantial force setting down in waves of troop carriers at strategic points.

Kylo and Hux watched in the doorway as humans and Makurth ran through the streets, celebrating the eclipse, preparing and cheering for the rebel soldiers as the lines formed and crowds of people began moving to the impromptu spaceports that had been disguised throughout Yennor and elsewhere to accommodate the launching of the carriers. Children and adults of all species, including Ho’din, were setting off a kind of loud explosive that blossomed into purple fire above the low rooftops of the plain, low buildings in the residential area. The buildings and faces were lit with intense flashes of purple as explosion after explosion rippled through the air, the crowds cheering along with them.

Kylo turned to look at Hux, who was evaluating the scene with his usual look of neutrality. After a moment, he turned to Kylo, face lit by a sudden flash of purple.

“What do you think our odds of success are, Ren?”

Ren grinned genuinely, something he rarely allowed himself. “High, General. The soldiers are eager. They are well-armed, and their training progress with your exceptional soldiers was significant.” He turned back out to the streets to watch a group of rebel fighters turn the corner for one of the launch areas. They had brand new First Order rifles slung over their shoulders. “Besides, success is your area of expertise.” Kylo turned back to him. “Do you think we’ll win? Get the cortosis?”

Hux nodded. “Of course. I would not have seen this through to the end if I didn’t believe it was the best course of action.” He looked down, and looked back up at Kylo, his expression more guarded.

“I didn’t forget,” he added quietly. “This was your idea. And we made a bet. You can have what you will of me.”

“Whatever I want?”

Hux frowned. “I suppose. We didn’t set up any restrictions. What would you have?”

Kylo could feel he was anxious, but also curious. Not afraid. Interesting.

“You’re not afraid of me.” Hope spiked in his chest, and he made his voice light, making it sound like a joke as he asked for the thing he had been contemplating before sleep. “What if I asked you to leave the First Order? Escape with me to live an anonymous life as a nerf herder in some forgotten corner of the galaxy?”

Hux wrinkled his nose, obviously not taking it as a joke, but finding a way to deflect anyway. “That’s more than one thing. Leaving the First Order. Coming with you. Starting a new profession. It doesn’t count.”

Kylo snorted. “Of course not.” He turned back to the crowd and watched for a few minutes more in silence, waiting for Hux to ask.

“Certainly you thought of something. You’ve been winning the bet since the beginning. You have something in mind. Ask.”

“Ask you to fulfill my wish?” Kylo said lightly, turning back to him, his eyes still burning, his whole body exhausted. “What makes you think I have to ask you for anything?”

Hux looked taken aback. “Because that was the bargain. You’d be able to ask anything of me.”

Kylo looked past him, back into the small house. “There’s very little I desire.”

A sound behind him prompted him to look into the sky. The first round of troop carriers was launching. The next would follow ten minutes later. They both watched the ships drift up towards the sky, into space and towards points across the surface of Orri, in the mines and city centers and defense depots. They would make landfall in forty-five minutes.

After a moment, Hux broke the silence again. “You had something in mind when you made the wager. What was it, Kylo?”

Kylo picked up Hux left hand in his own. The cortosis tattoos burned between them. “I had intended to ask you to try a more intimate relationship. I thought it would work.” He looked from the back of Hux’s hand and into his eyes. Hux held them for several moments, his face lit in flashes of purple in the darkness, his eyes blue and still, giving nothing away. Kylo could feel an intense ache through their connection, and his anxiety spiked. Eventually, a louder explosion had them both searching the crowded streets for anything out of the ordinary in the dense crowd.

“Then you have it, Kylo.”

It was a simple answer, and not what Kylo had expected. They blinked at each other for another few moments, confusion and a kind of tentativeness pressing between them that made the moment awkward. Then Hux sighed, turning and retreating back into the apartment. Kylo watched his bare ass disappear into the darkness of the room, and barely made it out when Hux slumped over into the bed.

“Hey,” he protested, walking back into the house, leaving the door open. “You have to stay awake for now. What if you’re commed?”

“I won’t be commed until much later. They won’t need a more solid strategy until several more waves of resistance fighters are in place. He rolled over and faced the wall, his back to Kylo. Kylo slid into the bed behind him.

“Lazy.”

“Let me sleep.”

Kylo was silent for a moment, contemplating just that. But he had one more question.

“Hux,” he whispered quietly into his ear, using the name they hadn’t spoken between themselves in months. “What would you have asked me for, if you’d won?”

Hux was quiet for a moment, then rolled over, facing Kylo.

“There was nothing. I never bothered to think of anything, because I knew your plan was better.”

Kylo opened his mouth, then closed it. “You didn’t.”

Hux shrugged. “I didn’t want to admit it at the time. I was upset I hadn’t thought of something similar. But you did it far better than I could have. And I didn’t have to order you to do anything. It was all your idea.”

He rolled over, back away from Kylo.

Kylo wanted to be angry, to protest, to demand Hux tell him what he would have asked for, because of course Hux thought of something. He wanted to ask if the whole thing, their house and their plan and the last several months together, had been a manipulation.

It was, and it wasn’t. He knew Hux wasn’t lying to him.

So he closed his eyes and slept.


End file.
